The Summer Star
by AnaDona
Summary: AU. The Doctor had to take a detour before going back for Amy after sending away the Atraxi. He meets a young woman called Summer, who he is determined to take with him. Both of them are keeping secrets from each other, but who will be the first to know the truth? 11/OC. Leading to rewrite of series 5 onwards.
1. Meeting the Madman

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who *Yet*. I own Summer. **

**Prologue**

Sometimes I really hate my job. Day in and day out it's the same thing over and over. When I was at school, I couldn't imagine a life at work, it seemed so far away and so surreal. When you're at school, you have no responsibilities. You don't have to worry about paying rent and bills, or doing your own washing and cleaning. Life was easy back then, all you cared about was what you and your mates were doing at the weekend. The things you worried about were so trivial compared to life after school.

Now I know just how hard life really is, and how much parents do for us all. I work 6 days a week, earning just enough money to pay the rent and bills. I can't afford to go out, or treat myself to anything. Some days I struggle find enough money for food, it's always worse at the end of the month, before payday. That's when its time to be creative with whatever food is left over in the fridge and cupboards.

My mother died before I had even left school. She hadn't been well for some time, and it seemed everyone knew but me. She had been battling with cancer, and she lost her fight. She was a wonderful woman, and she was my best friend. When she told me that I was adopted, I didn't care. I had no desire to find my birth parents, why would I when I had a wonderful mother and father?

After she died, my father turned to alcohol and gambling for comfort. He became violent as well, thanks to the alcohol. He would be out drinking from dawn, some nights he never made it home. I tried to help him, talking to him and get him to seek some real help, but he always refused, said he was in control. When he died, he was no longer the man I knew to be my father. He wasn't kind anymore.

My inheritance came in the form of all his debt. I had to sell the house I had grown up in, as well as my car, to pay off his debts. There were no savings, he had gambled away all my mothers money after she died. That's how I ended up living in a damp, dreary, unloved flat. It was all that I could afford at the time, and it still is now.

During the winter months, I have no heating. I survive by putting on layers and layers, jumper after jumper, to keep myself warm. The landlord doesn't care that I have no heating, he says if I want to have it working, I can pay for it. I've tried to get help, but no one is interested. I just carry on, I work, eat, and sleep. I don't live, I just exist.

Everyday it's the same routine. I wake up, get the bus to work, spend 8 hours organising a store full of books, then it's home to eat and sleep. Some days are good at work, if it's quiet I might be able to read a little. I love reading, I always have. I went to university and studied history and English, I always wanted to be a teacher, and those were the only subjects I had ever enjoyed. Things never worked out that way. In the end I couldn't afford to go on to the next course I wanted to do, the fees were too expensive.

So this is me, Summer Richards. I work in a bookshop, as I have done for the past 3 years since finishing university. I don't live, I purely exist in the world. I have no friends nor family anymore, it's just me, in my one bedroom flat. I dream that one day, things will change, and I can do something more with my life. But until then, I carry on.

* * *

Finally, Saturday, the day I have waited for since Monday. The week seemed to be dragging on, every hour passing so slowly. I don't wish my life away, but when you're bored out of your mind all day, with nothing to really pass the time, you do wish for the day to end. The shop had been quiet all week, the usual customers coming in, but nobody new or interesting. There weren't even any new or interesting books around to pass the time.

The day was actually passing surprisingly quickly, the morning delivery had been slightly larger than normal so it was taking more time to check it and place the new stock on the shelves. I was happy with the amount of new history books that we had in. I love history, sometimes I wish I had been born on a different era.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" A mans voice asked from behind me.

"Yes, can I help you at all?" I asked the man, getting myself up off the floor and almost knocking over half the new stock. Luckily I was quick to react and managed to catch the side of them, stopping them all from tumbling over. Once I was satisfied that they weren't going to topple over I turned to look at the man. He was tall, very tall, with a mess of dark hair on his head. His eyes were wild, just like his hair.

"Ah, I was just wondering if I could have at look in your storeroom." He asked, he sounded a little nervous. Well, I would be nervous if I was asking to look in the storeroom of a bookshop.

"I'm sorry, staff only." I told him, watching him very carefully. I was curious about why he would want to even look in there, it's not like we kept anything in there. Only some old, damaged stock that we couldn't sell.

"Ah, right, yes." I watched him as he reached into the pocket of his jacket. His dress sense was a little strange, he was wearing a bow tie and a tweed jacket. Not forgetting the bracer's clipped to his rather tightly fitted black trousers and over his slightly pink tinted shirt. He eventually pulled out a leather wallet and flipped it open in front of me.

"There you go, I am staff, first day and all that." He had a strange grin on his face.

I looked at the paper, then up at the man. "Sir, that paper is blank, and you are not staff." I kept my eyes firmly locked with his. The man's mouth fell open as his eyes widened.

"Okay, that's interesting." He said to himself as he turned the wallet around and looked at the paper himself. "Hmm, okay, that really is interesting. What's your name?" I pointed to the name tag pinned to my shirt. "Hello Summer. I'm the Doctor, and I really need to get into your storeroom."

I folded my arms across my chest. What was so important about that storeroom that a man would try to lie to get his way onto there? "I don't think so."

I kept watching him as he ran a hand through his floppy hair. "Please, it is very, very important that I get in there." The man, the Doctor, pleaded.

There was something in his tone that really made me think about my answer, I was on the verge of saying yes when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned away from the man and started walking over to what I had seen. A blue wooden police box. "When then hell did we get that?" I asked myself, not realising that the man had followed me.

"Sorry, that's mine." I quickly turned to look at him. How could he have brought that into the shop?

"Oh. Well that's okay then, isn't it." I said to him sarcastically.

He just smiled at me. "Good. Now, about that storeroom..."

I let out a sigh. What was so damn important about the stupid storeroom? "Look, whoever you are, you're not going into the storeroom. Now I'd like you to leave. And you can take this thing with you." I pointed to the box.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor. And I really can't leave until I check what's in your storeroom." He was starting to sound rather desperate but I had had enough.

"Sir, I am asking you to leave. Now if you won't cooperate and leave of your own accord I shall have to call the police." I told him, as politely as I could.

He studied me carefully, I just wanted him to leave. It was clear he was mad and had problems. "What's your last name, Summer?"

"Richards." Why did I tell him that? I don't even know him. I didn't even think, I just told him. He's a complete stranger, and a mad one at that.

He only smiled at me. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Summer Richards. I hope to meet you again."

"Yeah? Well I don't." I told him harshly. Meeting him once was enough for me.

When I looked at him, just really looked, he seemed sad. There was something about him that told me he was alone, and just very very sad. I suddenly felt guilty for being so rash with him, but I didn't get a chance to apologies. He was already halfway through the door of the blue box. I wondered what he could possibly be doing, it was a box, did he think that he could just hide away in there?

Suddenly I heard this strange noise, a noise I could have sworn I had heard before. It was a rough grinding noise, and then I noticed the breeze. How could there be a breeze when the doors and windows in the shop were all closed? I looked around and saw the books on the floor blowing open, the pages turning rapidly from the wind. Then I stepped back, as the blue box began to fade right in front of my eyes.

I could not believe it. Did that really just happen? I swear there was a man, who stepped into that box and then they both disappeared. That's impossible, it really is. There was no way that could have happen, is there?

My boss brought me back to my senses. He was yelling at me, as always. Telling me how useless I was and how I daydreamed too much. Maybe that's all it was, a daydream, a way for me to escape this boring existence of mine. Either way I was now stuck there to lock up on my own. It wasn't the first time I had been left to man the shop alone, in fact it happened often. Only now, I was feeling a little anxious about it.

It was finally time for me to go home. The last customer had been over an hour ago and I had already done the nightly tidy and clean. I had just locked the back door and was walking past the storeroom when curiosity hit me. That man had been very interested in what was in there, and now, thanks to him, so was I. It had been a while since I had been in there, it was to store away some books that had been damaged when the roof leaked during a nasty storm.

I put the key in the lock and turned it slowly. I was breathing as quietly as I could, something was telling me not to do it, but I was going to open it and see that there was nothing inside. It was all that mad mans fault, he had planted ideas in my head. I was getting paranoid because of some stupid man who has a box that disappears.

I held my breath as I opened the door, slowly, very slowly. I cringed as the hinges squeaked at the movement. It felt like someone was dragging their nail across a chalkboard, it went right through me and put me even more on edge. I refused to open the door full, just enough for me to glance inside.

A glance was all it took for me to realise that something was wrong. There were no books in the room, it looked nothing like it did the last time I was there. It was illuminated by the flashing lights coming from the machine that took up most of the room. It was huge, I had never seen anything like it before.

I hurriedly shut the door and locked it before running up the few steps and towards the front door, grabbing my bag as I passed the counter. I didn't breath properly until I had locked up the shop and was halfway home. I didn't bother to get the bus, I decided that a walk would do me some good.

My mind was racing, that man knew something, otherwise why would he want to see what was in there? I quickly pushed all those thoughts to the back of my mind and picked up the pace, I just wanted to get home, to the flat that I hated so much.

As soon as I was in my wretched flat I locked the door and let out a sigh of relief. I was finally home, and I didn't have to be back at that stupid shop until Monday. Tomorrow was all mine. I pulled open the door to the fridge and took out the salad that I had made before work. It wasn't much, but it was food.

When I sat down on the sofa I realised just how exhausted I was. I usually done my best to stay up as late as I could on a Saturday night, since it was the only time I knew I didn't have to get up for work the next morning. But after being home for only an hour I was ready for bed.

I got changed into my favourite pyjamas, the blue ones with the swirly patterns on. I curled up in my bed, it was warm and comforting and it didn't take me long to drift off into a rather restless sleep.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my chest was pounding and I was struggling to breath. I tried to get myself out of my bed, to get some water or something, I didn't know what to do. I didn't make it very far, as soon as my feet touched the cold floor I collapsed into a heap. Then I heard something, I didn't know what it was, all I could hear at first was the blood pounding in my ears.

Then I heard a vaguely familiar voice. "Summer? Summer can you hear me? You need to calm down." Well I already knew I needed to calm down I just didn't know how. I tried to stand up and felt a pair of hands under my arms, trying to help me. They didn't help much as my legs just gave way again and I landed back on the floor.

"Summer, you really need to listen to me, just take a deep breath, trust me. Deep breath and everything will get better."

I tried to nod at the man, not sure if he understood me or not. I took a deep breath and everything started spinning, even with my eyes tightly shut. I let the air out slowly before taking another large gulp of air. After that I did start to feel a little calmer. The thumping in my chest had eased and my breathing was getting easier as well.

I heard this strange buzzing noise and thought that there was something else wrong with my ears now instead. "That's better, how are you feeling now Summer?"

I was still huddled up on the floor with someone's arm around me, my eyes still slightly shut. "Awful." I managed to mumble. I heard the man laughing lightly at my answer. Now that I was feeling slightly better, I was starting to come to my senses.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get into my flat?"

"I'm the Doctor, we met earlier, at the bookshop. You wouldn't let me see what was in the storeroom."

I groaned a little. It was that mad man again. "And I guess you got in by using your blue box."

I didn't see the man's reaction, I didn't want to open my eyes in case everything started spinning again. "Yes. Parked her in the living room, hope you don't mind." His voice sounded cheerful, but concerned at the same time. It was like he was trying to lighten the mood.

"Why would I mind? It's only a box that can disappear and then materialise somewhere else." I said sarcastically. I remembered being sarcastic to him back at the shop, he thought I was being serious. There was a moment's silence and I thought that maybe he had gone.

"I think it's safe for you to open your eyes now. All your vitals have returned to normal. How's your head?" The man asked softly.

"Still attached to the rest of my body as far as I'm aware."

I heard him let out a sigh, he didn't seem to like my sarcasm much. "Summer, I want to make sure you're okay. So tell me, how does your head feel?" There was concern and seriousness in his tone.

"It feels a little... Weird. It doesn't hurt, I just feel a little dizzy I think." I felt his arm move from around my shoulders and to my hand.

"Summer, just open your eyes. Open your eyes and look at me." I thought I could now hear the sound of desperation in his voice. If he hadn't been there for me, helping me to calm down, I don't know what might have happened. Maybe I owed it to him, to open my eyes.

I made sure to lower my head, before slowly opening my eyes. My vision was blurred at first but then the sight of my pyjamas started to swim into focus. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as I saw the swirls.

"Okay, now look at me, Summer." Slowly I started to raise my head, it still felt weird and fuzzy, but my sight was clearing and at least I didn't feel sick. My eyes finally met his and a smile spread across his face. "Hello again."

I couldn't help but smile back at him. There was something about him, something unexplainable. "Hi."

"Can you remember what happened?" I frowned at him, why was he so concerned about me?

"Not really, no. I was asleep, I was a lot more tired than I thought I was. I think it was some dream I was having or something, but I really can't remember any of it." I didn't break eye contact with him. His eyes were so different to anyone's I had ever seen before. He was so young but his eyes told a different story.

"How did you know where I lived? And why did you show up when you did?" There was so much I wanted to ask him, the obvious being about his box and how it moved, but I thought I'd do better to start small.

"I looked up your address. Summer isn't a very common name you know." He was still smiling at me, and it was infectious. I had to keep smiling back. "And well, I guess I just showed up at the right time." That's when I saw it, something in his eyes was telling me otherwise, that he wasn't telling me the truth.

I let out a sigh, why did people always insist on hiding the truth from me? "You can't have looked me up, I'm not in any address books. And I can tell by your eyes that you're lying. So why don't you start telling me the truth."

"It's complicated, Summer."

I was fed up, he wasn't going to tell me anything, especially not the truth. "Right, well you better get back in your box and leave then. I've had enough of people messing around with my life, so if you aren't going to tell me the truth then you should just leave." That's when I finally tore my eyes away from his, took back my hand and managed to pull myself back onto my bed. I sat on the edge, and rested my head in my hands, expecting the strange mad man to leave. But he didn't.

He sat next to me on the bed. "Summer, I want to tell you the truth, honestly, but you wouldn't believe me and it would put you in danger." There was something in his voice that made me want to believe him, and not ask any more questions. But there was something scratching away at the back of my mind telling me I needed to know.

"Then leave. But you won't find out what's in that storeroom without me." That seemed to grab his attention. He was looking at me, it felt like he was trying to work out if I was telling him the truth.

"Summer, I really don't want to drag you into any of this. Like I said, it's dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt." He pulled both my hands away from my face. "Look at me, Summer." Reluctantly I lifted my head and turned to face him. "The people I meet, my friends, they always end up getting hurt. I destroy their lives in the end."

"My life was destroyed when my mother died." I whispered, thinking back to the day I found out. I cried and screamed and ran away from everything. I sat in the park for hours until a man approached me, he asked me if I was all right and I just blurted everything out to him. I didn't even ask him his name, but he did ask me mine. He even walked me home, to my drunken father. I saw that man again, just the once.

My father was blind drunk, and he turned so violent. He was hitting me, kicking me, I thought that he was actually going to kill me. But then, out of nowhere, that man charged through the front door and pulled me out of his grip. He didn't recognise me at first, but I recognised him. When I first met him, my hair was long and red, I always used to change my hair colour, trying to be someone else. The second time I had blonde hair, and it was much shorter than before.

He wanted me to go with him, he wanted to protect me, to keep me safe. I refused. No matter how drunk and violent my father got, we were all each other had left. After he died I so badly wanted that man to return for me, but he never did. I will never forget that man. The skinny man in the pin stripe suit and the long brown coat.

I felt the man's arm around me and that shook me out of my thoughts. "Oh, Summer. It's okay. We all lose people we care about. And it's tough, I know it is, but over time, it starts to get a little more bearable." That's when I realised that I had been crying.

"No it doesn't." I said as I wiped the tears away with my arm. "For me it only got worse."

He looked at me, his eyes were so full of sadness. "Why? Tell me, Summer. Why did it get worse?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I may as well tell him. "My mother died, my father became a violent drunk. He died and left me with nothing but debt. I had to sell everything that I could to pay it all off, the house, my car, it all went. Then I had to move miles away to find somewhere I could afford to live, to get a job that leaves me with no money after paying the bills. I don't live, I exist."

"Summer Richards..." He said softly. "Do you still want me to tell you the truth?" I looked at him and nodded. Just once I wanted someone to talk to me and treat me like a person. "Right, but first, I need you to tell me something." I studied him carefully, waiting for his question. "Is that your natural hair colour?"

I looked at him blankly. What did my hair colour matter? "Um, yes. I can't exactly afford hair dye."

All he could do was smile at me. "Well I like it how it is. A lovely golden brown. It suits you. I'd keep it how it is."

I couldn't help but frown at the man. "Thanks, I guess."

"Come on then, you want to know the truth then I will tell you the truth." He held a hand out, waiting for me to take it. I let out a sigh and took his hand and he pulled me quickly off the bed and into the living room. "This box, isn't just an ordinary box."

"I know. I managed to work that one out at the bookshop."

I watched a mad grin spread across his face. "Do you want to know what it is?"

"Is it... A time machine?" I couldn't help but smile at his grin, there was something so different about him.

"It's a time..." His face dropped. "How did you know that?"

"Just a guess. Clearly it travels through space as well since you brought it from the shop to my living room." His face fell even further.

"You are brilliant. First the psychic paper and now this. You're brilliant, Summer Richards. It's called a TARDIS..."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." I said. Not even thinking.

He gave me a strange look, like I had just told the world his biggest secret. "But, how did you work that out?"

I shrugged my shoulders. There was something at the back of my mind, telling me to say that, so I did. "Lucky guess." He seemed speechless, and I started to worry that something was wrong with him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Now, Summer, would you like to see inside?"

I shook me head at him. "No. Not until you have answered my questions and told me the truth."

He threw himself on to my old, worn sofa and smiled at me. "Come on then. Ask away."

I sat down next to him, wondering what I should ask him first. "How did you know where I lived?"

"The TARDIS."

I frowned at him, was that all he had to say about it? "Okay, why are you so interested I what's in the storeroom at the shop?"

"Because I'm trying to find something, something that is messing with time. There is a machine out there somewhere that is trying to break into the time vortex. And I need to find it and stop it. I managed to track an energy signature, which led me to the bookshop. But you wouldn't let me see if it was there." he frowned at me.

I didn't feel guilt, at the time I didn't trust him and had no idea what was going on. "I had every right not to let you see."

"True. But what about now? Would you let me see what's in there now?"

"I'm still asking questions, thank you. You will have your turn so wait." I told him, making him sulk a little. It was rather funny. "You have something that can travel through time and space, you're not human, are you?"

He had another shocked expression on his face. It seemed I was doing well at surprising him. "No, I'm a Time Lord." Something sparked at the back of my mind, Time Lord, where had I heard that before? I was sure I recognised that.

"Okay, sure." I said, pushing myself off the sofa. He looked at me blankly. "What? You want to see what's in the storeroom. You asked me if I would let you see it now. I'm saying yes. There is a machine in there, I saw it myself, and I guess that's what you are after. So come on, let's go."

That mad grin returned to his face and he jumped off the sofa. He pulled a key out of his pocket and turned it in the lock of the blue box. "Summer Richards, prepare to be amazed."

I smiled at him as he stood aside to let me into the box, the TARDIS. I was amazed.

* * *

A/N: So that is the first chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review, reviews are good.

The way I am working this story is throw in my OC and then bring in the Ponds (Series 5). I already have a lot of ideas but I'm always open to suggestions from the readers. Next chapter should be up in a few days.

Again, read and review. Thanks!

Pippa


	2. Welcome to the TARDIS

Disclaimer. I own Summer. Still working on owning the rest.

* * *

Words failed me as I stood there, staring. My eyes were wide and my mind was racing. It was impossible, just impossible. But then so was everything else that had happened since I had first met that mad man with a box.

"So, what do you think?" The Doctor asked as he closed the door and escorted me up towards the console in the centre of the room.

"Not bad. Not quite what I had imagined." I told him as I walked around the console.

"Not what you imagined? What did you expect then?" he asked me curiously.

"That it wouldn't look like it was put together in someone's shed." I said, noticing the taps on one of the panels.

"Is that all? Nothing else to say?" I looked at him, he looked like he was expecting me to say something else. "No comment on the size?"

I laughed at him. "Do you really want me to say it? Will it make you happy if I point out the obvious?" He nodded at me and I laughed again. "Oh my word, it's bigger on the inside!" I said, in a posh, London accent. That made him smile at me, then frown.

"Why did you say it like that?" He asked, taking a step closer to me.

"Um, because that's how I used to speak. I was brought up in a rather upmarket part of London. Went to a posh school and everything. Does it matter?" I asked him curiously, going back to my lightly less posh accent.

"No, you just reminded me of someone I had met before, that's all. Didn't have the same lovely hair as you though." He said as he bounced around the console.

"When I was younger I used to dye my hair a lot. Think I've been through ever colour I could find. Different shades of red, purple, blonde. I even dyed it blue at one point. But like I said, can't afford to do it anymore so I don't." I told him as I watched him push various buttons and twist different knobs.

Then he stopped and turned to me. "Oh, Summer. I am so sorry." He grabbed hold of me and hugged me tightly. I was a little bemused, to say the least. Was he sorry about the fact that I could afford to by hair dye?

"Um, okay. Not quite sure what you're sorry for here." I told him as I hugged him back. Every moment I seemed to spend around him just made everything make less sense.

"Oh, Summer. You are amazing!" He said, before kissing my forehead and charging back to the console. I was left standing there. Not able to understand what had happened. "Now, shall we go and save all of time and space?"

I watched him as he continued to bounce around the console madly. "Well, I don't see why not. To the bookshop?"

"To the bookshop!" He said excitedly as he pulled down a lever and the whole place began to shake.

A few moments later the shaking stopped and a wild grin spread across the Doctor's face. He looked excited but worried at the same time. "Summer, before we go out there, there are a few ground rules."

I looked at him, not in confusion but in anticipation. "Sounds fair. Go ahead."

"Rule one, don't wander off. That's the most important rule. Do not wander off. Rule two, if I tell you to do something, listen to me and do it. No arguments, just do what I tell you and we should get along fine."

I waited, expecting there to be more. But his silence and the expression on his face told me he was waiting for me to accept the rules. "Okay, seems fair to me. You're the alien who knows what their doing. Knowing me I'd just blow a hole in the universe or something if I was on my own."

He smiled at me. I had to admit, I was really rather excited. He had told me it would be dangerous, but I didn't actually care. For once in my life, I was actually doing something different, I was doing something that would actually mean something. Saving the whole of time and space? Yes please.

"Right then. Take me to your storeroom." The Doctor said to me as he held open one of the doors for me. Even though I already knew that the impossible blue box would have moved, I still stood there in amazement for a few moments as we stepped out of the box and into the bookshop.

I couldn't help but let a small smile creep across my face. "This, is fantastic." I said as the Doctor closed the door behind him after he stepped out.

He smiled at me, such a soft smile. "Come on then, Summer Richard. Enough standing around, time to get to work." He started to push me away from the TARDIS and I happily went with him.

I led him across the shop and down the few stairs to the storeroom I ran away from only hours ago. "This is the room, that machine takes up pretty much the whole thing." I told him as I watched him pull a weird pen like thing out of his tweed jacket pocket. I looked at it as the end started glowing green and it made a buzzing noise I remembered hearing before. "Sonic screwdriver, not bad." I said as I watched him trying to open the door.

He stopped what he was doing and turned to me. "How did you know what it was called?" I backed away from him a little, his tone had been a little bit frightening.

"It's… kind of obvious, I mean, with the noise it's making. And I met someone who had one before. But it was different." I remembered back to that man in the suit. He was holding it in his hand when he came running in to rescue me from my father. I had been curious about it, I kept asking him so many questions.

"Summer, what did their one look like?" He asked, watching me closely.

"It was silver, blue at the end." I told him, still worried about the tone that he was using. "Is it important?" I knew there was something going on, but I also knew he wasn't going to tell me.

"Nope, just wondering. Never mind." He got back to trying to open the door. "Argh! I can't get it open! It's deadlock sealed." I watched him as he got frustrated.

"And it's wood. Two things a sonic screwdriver is useless against. Deadlocks and wood." I said as I quickly slipped my hand up the back of my pyjama top.

"Yes, and now we have no way to get in there." He kicked the door, doing nothing but hurting his foot.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. You could always try using the key." I told him as I pulled my hand out and showed him the key to the door.

"The key! Brilliant! Where did you hide that?" He asked, taking the key from me and placing it into the lock.

"Oh, a woman never reveals her secrets, Doctor. That would ruin the whole mystery." There was a huge grin on my face. I wasn't going to tell him that I had it caught between my back and the elastic of my top. "But aren't you glad that I brought that with me."

The Doctor smiled at me, and slowly opened the door. I held my breath and keep behind him. I was nowhere near as scared as I was the last time I was in the shop, but I was still a little nervous. That machine was trying to rip a whole in the time vortex, and that was bad. So the person, or alien, that was trying to do it couldn't have been very nice.

The Doctor let out a whistle as he walked into the room and saw the machine. "Oh, that is brilliant. Whoever built this is a genius. I mean, just look at it!" The Doctor exclaimed as I went and stood beside him.

"Yes, it's very pretty. Now, how do we stop it?" I asked him, seeing that he was getting distracted from the task at hand.

"Right, yes, sorry." I watched him as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the machine. The end glowed green and it buzzed for several seconds before he placed it back in his pocket. "There we go, that should give us some time to work out how to turn it all off."

"You have no idea what to do, do you Doctor?" I folded my arms across my chest and watched him and he ran his hand through his hair.

"No, but I will think of something. I always do. I once saved the world in less than 20 minutes without my screwdriver." He grinned at me, and I knew he wasn't lying. He was just full of surprises.

"Well, I suggest you think fast, because I have a very bad feeling that who ever built that thing is going to be pretty angry when they find out what you have done to it." The air around me had suddenly gotten very cold, it put me on edge.

The Doctor looked at me and saw me shiver slightly. He frowned at me, and it looked as if he was about to speak when we both heard a low growling sound. "Okay, that didn't sound good." I said as I strained to look for the source of the noise.

"No, and I'm sure that I recognise that noise. Why don't you stop hiding and come on out?" The Doctor was spinning on the spot, looking everywhere around the room. It was dark, and hard to see anything. I could only just make out the Doctor's form when the room filled with a weird light.

A moment later and the light was gone, but I had a feeling that we were no longer alone in the room. I could still see the Doctor, but I was sure there was another shadow to the other side of him. It was large, the shape looked similar to that of my boss, Mr Porter.

"Come on then, I know you are here, you just teleported in. Why don't you stop playing games and let us see who you really are." There was confidence in his voice, and I started to relax a little. There was silence, I was trying so hard not to make a sound, I didn't even want to breathe.

The Doctor could see that he was not going to get any response so he tried again. "Okay, you're trying to pull apart the time vortex, why?"

"Revenge." A voice hissed through the darkness. It sent shivers down my spine, it was such an awful sound.

"Revenge? On who?" The Doctor asked curiously. He didn't seem phased by anything that was going on.

"On you, Doctor. You killed so many of my family. Now I shall put you to death for their murders." I watched as the figure stepped further out of the shadows and in to the little light that there was. I had to squint to get my eyes to focus properly but I finally saw the figure.

"That's Mr Porter, my boss. Well, it used to be." I whispered to the Doctor. He nodded back at me, I could see he was trying to work something else out, who was the family that he had killed?

"So, are you going to give me a clue as to who your family are? Or are we going to keep playing guessing games?" The Doctor was starting to sound irritated.

"Maybe if you saw me, you would understand better, Doctor." Mr Porter spat. He reached up to his forehead and started tugging at what looked like a zip. I had to shield my eyes from the bright light that escaped as he started to pull the zip across his head.

When the light had died, I looked at what used to be Mr Porter. "Guessing you know him now then, Doctor?" I couldn't think of much else to say. I wasn't truly surprised that he had been some weird green alien, he always was a bit strange. Oh, and the smell, he really used to stink.

"Slitheen. From the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious." The Doctor whispered to me. I just nodded back, I was surprised how well I was taking everything.  
"So, you laid a trap for me so that you could have revenge for what happened to your family when they tried to killed me and destroy this planet?"

"Yes." The Slitheen hissed.

"But it's not just a trap is it?" The Doctor said, walking around the machine. "Because this machine really is trying to tear a hole in the time vortex. Now, that would be a good trap, a really good trap. But there is one flaw to this plan of yours."

"My plan is flawless." The creature hissed with what could only be described as a smug grin on his face.

"Oh, you wish. Because you have the biggest flaw of them all. This was a trap for me, I'm the Doctor. I gave your family a choice all those years ago, I extend that to you. Leave, right now." I couldn't help but notice the change in the Doctor's tone. It was more harsh, fierce, he was not a force to be reckoned with.

"Why would I leave this place when there is so much I can destroy. I can have revenge not only on you, but on this entire godforsaken rock."

I saw the Doctor's face harden. I knew there and then that he was not going to let that happen.  
"This is your last chance. Because otherwise, I will stop you, and that is a promise."

The green creature before us both just laughed manically. Clearly he didn't believe the Doctor, if it was a he, it was hard to tell. Then it started moving towards us. The Doctor was quick to grab my hand and drag me out of the room.

"Okay, so what do we do now then, Doctor?" I asked him as I looked around the bookshop. Everything looked so normal to me, this was the place that I worked for 3 years. Then I wondered, how long had that alien been pretending to be my boss?

"We don't do anything. I stop that Slitheen and blow up that machine." He told me. I knew how serious he was, I could see it on his face.

"Is there nothing I can do? Nothing at all?" I was hoping that there was something I could do at least. How could I let him face that thing alone?

"No, too dangerous. And you have already helped me, you got me into that room. Would never have made it that far without you. Now, I suggest you go and just wait in the TARDIS. I won't be long." He led me back to his amazing blue box and unlocked the door.

"Well, if you don't come back quickly and safely, I may have to break rule two." I told him, wagging the index finger of my left hand at him, just so he knew I was serious.

He actually laughed at me before giving me a quick hug. "Summer Richards, I will be back. There is still a lot I don't know about you. Just go and make yourself at home, but do not touch anything."

"Oh, I won't touch anything. I like said before, hole in the universe." I couldn't help but smile at him. "I might just have a wander around in there, if that's okay with you?"

"Just try not to get lost, I once lost someone for almost a week before I finally found them." I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't joking. So I nodded at him and watched him walk away with a smile on his face.

I turned around and entered the TARDIS, shutting the door gently behind me. I slowly walked up towards the console and just wandered around it. I could hear a faint humming noise, and I couldn't help but smile at it. For some reason the sound was somehow familiar to me, like I had heard it somewhere before. I quickly shook that thought out of my head and continued around the console. It really did look like it was put together in a hurry by whatever the maker could find, but I had to admit that it was beautiful.

After a while I decided to go for a walk through the ship. At first I had no idea where I was going, I was just aimlessly wandering around, waiting for the Doctor to come back, safely. I ended up in huge room filled with books. My first thought was 'Now this is what I call a library'. I didn't hesitate and I was quickly looked at the books.

The moment I found some history books, I was engrossed. I also noticed some books that weren't exactly history to me yet, but something told me I should avoid them so I did. There were so many to get through, history of every country on Earth. Some of the books were difficult to read, they were hand written and the handwriting was amazing. I had never seen anything like it before.

I think I must have been there for almost an hour when I felt the TARDIS shaking. I was in the process of reading through a book about William Wallace and without putting the book down, I ran back to where I hoped the console room was. I was lucky, I had been going the right way and when I got there I saw the Doctor dashing around the console.

"Ah, there you are. I think we need to get out of here so I'd hold on tight if I was you." I instantly done as he told me to and grabbed onto the railings, and it was only just in time. Unfortunately I managed to drop the book, I just hoped the Doctor wouldn't be too angry at me for treating one of his books like that.

"So, have you saved all of time and space then Doctor?" I called to him, trying to keep my balance as we were both thrown about.

"Time and space, yes. The bookshop, maybe not. I think I may have just blown up your workplace. Sorry." He said as I was thrown off my feet. It would appear I wasn't holding on tight enough. I felt my hands slip from the railing I was hanging onto and my knees buckled with another shake of the TARDIS. My head started throbbing as soon as I hit the clear floor of the ship.

Once all the shaking had stopped the Doctor was instantly at my side. "You okay, Summer?" He pulled me up off the floor and my legs immediately gave way.

I saw his head lingering over mine. "I think I may have hit my head." Then everything went black.

_Why could I hear screaming? And where was I? I couldn't see anything, it was all just, nothing. I couldn't feel anything around me either, there was just, emptiness. All I knew was that I could hear screaming. I felt someone clamp their arms around my waist and try to pull me backwards. I started kicking and screaming but they were just too strong, I couldn't get out of their grasp._

"Summer? Summer, wake up!" I felt someone gently shaking me as well as calling out my name. I slowly managed to force my eyes open.

The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in the console room anymore. I was pretty sure that's where I last was, but now I was laying down on a bed, I just didn't know whose bed it was. The second thing I realised was that my head felt like it was about to explode.

"What the hell happened?" There was something wrong with my throat, it was sore and I was struggling to get my words out.

"Yes, I wouldn't try talking too much, you were screaming quite a lot so your throat is probably hurt slightly." The Doctor told me. I look around to find him sitting on the side of the bed next to me.

I let out a sigh and then a thought came to me, he told me not to speak but there was another way I could communicate with him. For once, one of my random skills was going to come in useful. So I started using sign language. I could tell by the look on his face that he was impressed.

"Right, yes. You hit your head, the force of the TARDIS knocked you off your feet. Sorry about that, it takes some getting used to but we were escaping from an explosion at the time."

I nodded at him, I remembered my hands slipping from the rail and landing on the floor. Then I asked him about the screaming. I remember hearing screaming but I was sure it wasn't coming from me.

"You were screaming. I don't understand why you were screaming but that sound was definitely coming out of your mouth."

I just smiled at him and threw myself back down and instantly regretted it. My head came into contact with a soft pillow but it still managed to hurt. I kept thinking back to that dream, or whatever it was. It was awful, and it made me wonder if that was the same as all the other dreams I had but could never remember.

"I think you need to take it easy for a while." I managed to nod at him a little before forming a sentence in my head. I signed to him, asking him how long it would be before he took me home. He smiled at me. "Well, Summer Richards, that all depends on you."

All I could do was look at him in confusion. What exactly did he mean by that? He didn't say anything else after that. He just kissed me on the forehead and left the room. Now that he was gone I started to look around the room a little. It was all pretty plain, the walls were painted an off white colour and the room was rather bare.

I wasn't actually feeling tired at all and I was tempted to get off the bed and have another wander around, but something told me that if I did, the Doctor would not be pleased with me. Then I noticed the book that I had been looking at had been left at the end of the bed. I couldn't help but smile to myself, the Doctor must have left it there for me.

I picked it up and found where I was up to before I rushed off to the console room earlier. Then I lost myself, as I always did when I was reading. I was so engrossed in the book that I didn't even notice the Doctor come back into the room.

It wasn't until I had actually finished the book and closed it that I looked up and saw him sitting at the end of the bed, smiling at me.  
"Good book?" He asked me, I just nodded back at him, not knowing if I should bother to try and talk or not. "Here, drink this, it should help your throat." He passed me a cup of slight warm liquid. I guess it was probably a lot hotter when he first brought it in to me, but when reading I just close myself off from everything else around me.

I took it from him and smiled. "I think it's best if you drink it all at once, since it's no where near as hot as it was." I looked down at the liquid, it didn't look like anything I had seen before. It was like a metallic blue, and it smelt a little strange. I was hesitant at first but when I saw the encouraging look on his face I just closed my eyes and drank it without a second thought.

"Ugh! That was disgusting. What the hell was that?" Then I realised that I had actually spoken, and my throat seemed to be better than it was before.

"That, Summer Richards, was my very own special concoction. I am the Doctor after all, I'm good with medicine." I just shook my head at him.

"I'm guessing now that I'm better it's time to take me home." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and my feet found the floor. My voice wasn't still fully back to normal but it didn't hurt to speak at least.

"Do you really want to go back home? I mean, I blew up your job. Not the first time I have done that to someone. Probably won't be the last time either."

I didn't quite understand what he was saying, well, apart from him blowing up my job. That much was pretty clear. But what other option did I have but to go back home? "Where else am I meant to go? That rotten flat is all I have, although, without a job, I probably won't have it for too much longer."

He looked at me, his face was serious. "Come with me."

I stared at him, my eyes wide. "What did you say?"

"I said come with me." Those words rang in my head. That's what he had said as well, the man in the suit and long brown coat. The last time I saw him those were his exact words, and I turned him down, something that I have always regretted.

"Someone asked me that before, a long time ago. He said those exact words and I said no, because my father was still alive." There was a flash something in his eyes and he broke contact with mine for only a second. "What are you not telling me, Doctor?"

"I think it's better to show you, Summer Richards, not tell you." He stood up and held a hand out expectantly. I didn't even hesitate, I took his hand and we walked back to the console. I wanted to ask him what it was he wanted to show me but I had a feeling that he wasn't going to tell me.

Once we were at the console, he made me sit down in a chair by the console. He didn't want me to fall and hit my head again and thought it would be safer for me, and his ears, apparently. I watched him move around the console and he smiled at me before pulling a lever, making everything shake again.

When everything had calmed down, I knew we had landed. I had no idea where he had taken us, or when either. I didn't rush to get up as the Doctor came over to me and kneeled down on the floor in front of me.

"Tell me about this person, the man with the sonic screwdriver, the man who asked you to go with him. Tell me about him, Summer." My eyes widened, I never told him it was the same man. I never told him it was a man who had the sonic screwdriver.

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say at first. But it was his eyes, there was something about them, they were drawing me in, making me trust him. "He wore a pin strip suit, with a tie and a long brown coat. His eyes were brown, so was his hair, and he was kind of skinny."

"Do you know his name?" I shook my head, that's the one thing I had never asked. That man had always been so concerned about me, but I never even bothered to ask his name. He must have thought I was so selfish, or maybe just stupid.

"I only met him twice. The second time he didn't recognise me because my hair was different. That's when he asked me to go with him and I said no. After my father died I kept hoping that he would come back again, but he never did." I let out a sigh, I should have gone with him, my life could have been so different if I had gone with the man who just appeared when I needed someone the most.

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A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed. Sorry about the long wait from the first chapter. I had slight issues.

Remember to review, let me know what you think. Make me smile all you wonderful people and I might find it in me to update sooner.

Pippa.


	3. The Truth About the Man in the Suit

Disclaimer: I own Summer, everything else I'm still working on it. One day, one day...

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"The first time you met him was the day that your mother. You were in the park crying and he came over to you and asked you if you were okay. You told him everything." I stared at him even more. I had never told him that, how could he possibly know. "Your hair was long and red back then, you were still in school."

"But… how do you know that? I never told you about the park." I couldn't stop myself from asking. How did he know those things?

"And then the second time, after your mother had died, your father was…" I noticed the Doctor tense, as if the thought of it just mad him angry and upset. "Violent towards you. Your hair was short and blonde. The man charged into the house, dragged you out from you fathers grip and took you to safety. That's when he asked you to go with him, and you said no because your father needed you."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Everything he had said was true, and it scared me how he knew so much. "How the hell do you know all these things?" My voice was shaky, and I felt my eyes filling up with tears.

"Summer Richards, I know that man. In fact, I know that man very well. But the only way to prove it to you is to show you." He stood up and took both my hands, pulling me out of the chair with him.

He led me over to the doors and pulled one open. I froze, I didn't know if I wanted to go out there, I had no idea where I was. The Doctor had clearly sensed my nervousness and he gave me a reassuring smile.

"Summer it's okay, I promise you. Everything will be fine, trust me." I nodded at him and let him lead me out of the door. He swiftly closed it shut behind me.

I looked around, and I recognised where we were in an instant. We were around the corner from the park where I first met that man. My eyes kept scanning the area as we walked towards the park, trying to work out exactly what year it could have been. Judging from the clothing, I would say it was back when I was still at school.

I went to turn to the Doctor and ask him but that's when I saw it. The blue wooden police box standing in the park. I stopped, glued to the spot as I watched that man, the man that I turned down, pull a key out of his pocket and step inside the box. Then I heard that wheezing sound, something that I had imagined so many times, and the box just vanished.

"That looked just like your TARDIS…" I managed to say before the Doctor was dragging me back to his blue box. He pretty much threw me back into the chair and began running around the console again. He pulled the lever and the shaking began.

When we had landed he took my hand again and led me outside. We were down the street from my old house, the one I had to sell when my father died. Nothing was making any sense, why was he showing me the things that had happened?

Then I saw it, the blue box appeared, the man charged out and down to my house. He used the silver tube with the blue light to open the door. A few moments later he ran back out of the house, a blonde haired girl holding onto him tightly.

"Doctor, I don't understand, why are you showing me all this?" I asked him, looking at him, waiting.

"Because it's difficult to explain. But that is the man who asked you to go with him all those years ago. Now, you never asked his name." I looked back over and saw the girl walking away from him. "I want you to trust me, because this is very dangerous and very complicated. He can't see me, that would cause a lot of problems." He took hold of both my hands and looked me straight in the eyes. "I want you to go up to him, and ask him if he is the Doctor."

I just looked back at him in confusion. "You want me to ask him if he is the Doctor? But you're the Doctor?"

"I know, it's confusing and complicated but trust me. You can do this. Now, off you go!" He let go of my hands, spun me around and pushed me away from him and towards the man.

I walked rather quickly, he was getting closer to that box of his. I took and deep breath and ended up in a jog, I needed to catch him. "Excuse me!" I finally managed to call, as I got closer. He stopped and turned to look at me.

"Who me?" I couldn't help but smile when I heard his voice. I had missed that voice so much, it was always stuck in my head.

"Yes you. Just a quick question for you." I suddenly felt sick from the nerves. I prayed that I wouldn't actually be sick. I just needed to ask him one simple question.

"Okay, fire away."

I took a deep breath and decided to bite the bullet and do it. "Are you the Doctor?"

He looked at me in confusion. For a moment I thought he was going to tell me I was mad but his face quickly softened. "Yes I am. I'm sorry have we met?"

"No, well yes. Maybe, I don't know anymore. Oh this is stupid." I shook my head. If I wasn't confused before, I certainly was now. "Sorry, I have to go." I turned away and legged it. I knew where I was running to, straight back to the man in the tweed jacket who also called himself the Doctor.

I could hear the other man calling after me but I didn't dare turn around. I was so focused on my running that I actually ran straight into the Doctor. It seemed he had been expecting it as his arms were open and he quickly wrapped them around me as I hit his chest.

"Sorry, I know it's a shock. But like I said, it's difficult to explain." He whispered to me softly.

From what I could understand, they were both called Doctor and they both had a TARDIS. That couldn't be a coincidence could it? Then I heard a voice in my head. '_Time Lords can regenerate._'

"What the hell does that mean?" I shouted, not actually realising I was shouting until the Doctor pushed me away slightly.

"What are you shouting for? Are you determined to make me go deaf or something?" There was a seriously concerned look on his face.

"What the hell does regeneration mean?" I said a little quieter. I really didn't mean to shout, but hearing someone else's voice inside my head was the last thing I needed. Although, it wasn't the first time that it had happened.

I saw the shocked look in his face. "Regeneration?"

"Yes, regeneration. Time Lords can regenerate. I want to know what the hell that means." I snapped at him. I wasn't in a good mood anymore. I was confused and fed up. Why was nothing in my life ever simple? All I ever wanted was to do well in my studies and get myself a good job, that I enjoyed doing. But that was never really going to happen was it.

"How did you know that?"

I could tell by the look on his face that he was past shock now. "Just answer my question, Doctor. What does it mean?"

"It… it means that… when we died, we change. It's sort of a way of cheating death. Every cell in our bodies change, the results being a different person. Different face, body, personality, but our memories are still the same. We are still the same person, we just look and act different."

I just nodded at him. I couldn't say that I fully understood regeneration but it was something I could work on understanding. "Okay, so that explains it. That man, he's you, a past version of you. That also explains why you didn't want him to see you."

"Yes. Now I want you to tell me how you knew Time Lords could regenerate." I was slightly taken back by the sternness of his tone.

"Um… lucky guess?" I didn't very much feel up to telling him the truth. I mean, you tell someone you keep hearing voices in your head, the person thinks you're crazy.

"Nope, not going to work this time. There's something more about you, there always has been." Something about the way that he was looking at me was a little worrying. "The psychic paper, the TARDIS, knowing about regeneration. Who are you, Summer?"

I was starting to get pretty scared now. The way he was talking to me and looking at me, it was putting me on edge. "I'm no one, I've always been no one. I'm just…" I didn't know what else to say.

"No, you're so much more than no one. You have to be someone to be able to call the TARDIS like you do." He took a step closer to me and I backed away. It was all getting a bit too much for me now.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I could feel my chest starting to pound already. "What do you mean, 'call the TARDIS'?" My head was starting to spin and I had a feeling that thing's were just going to get worse.

"Every time I have met you, the TARDIS has taken me to you. It was never an accident, she knew she was taking me to you and she knew that you needed someone." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and took another step towards me, making me step back again. "Summer, don't be scared."

"Don't be scare? If you don't want me to be scared then stop talking about me like that." My voice was starting to get louder, I was trying my best not to shout at him. "Stop pointing that stupid thing in my face." I pushed his hand away that was holding the screwdriver to my face. Then everything started spinning.

"Summer? Summer can you look at me?" I could hear the Doctor's voice but my eyes were starting to close. "Summer, what's wrong?" I could hear the concern coming through in his voice, he was worried for some reason, and I couldn't work out why.

"It's my head. It's hurting like hell." I moaned, I felt like I suddenly didn't have any energy and fell to my knees. "Oh God, not again." I buried my head in my hands and tried my best to focus on something, anything, to distract me from the blinding pain in my head.

"Summer, what's happening? What do you mean not again?" I focused on the Doctor's voice.

"Explain… later." I struggled to force the words out. "Keep… talking."

"Summer, please. What's wrong?" I could tell by his voice that even he was scared, but he couldn't have been more scared than me. I thought they had stopped, the headaches that made me feel like my head was on fire.

"Just…talk." The pain was getting worse.

"A long time ago I met this girl with bright red hair. She was crying because she had lost someone very close to her. I talked to her, comforted her and then walked her home. She was amazing. Then I met her again, but she had changed the colour of her hair. She was blonde and was having a very bad day. I took her outside and asked her to come with me, seeing that she needed an escape from her life. But she said no. She never knew it, but I was so upset that she had said no to me. I wanted to look after her, to protect her because I saw that there was something special about her." I kept listening, he was talking about me. I felt the pain start to lessen.

"Keep talking." I said quietly.

"Then I found her again. All grown up, with no family and a life that she hated. She helped me to save the whole of time and space from a Slitheen who wanted revenge for something that happened life times ago. And I asked her again to come with me." I felt the Doctor put his arms around my shoulders.

The pain was pretty much completely gone now, the burning now down to a slight tingle. "Thanks." I finally said to him, lifting my head up to look at him. I could tell from his eyes that he had been worried, he still was. Now I had a lot of explaining to do.

"Are you okay now?" He asked me as he helped me to stand up. My legs were still a bit, wobbly, but he made sure to support me.

"Yeah, sorry about that. That, erm, hasn't happened for a while. Wasn't expecting it to happen either. Sorry."

His look showed both concern and confusion. "First, you have nothing to be sorry for. Second, I think we better get you back into the TARDIS and then you can explain to me exactly what happened." I just nodded at him and he led me back to the TARDIS.

Once we were inside he sat me down in the chair and plonked himself on the floor in front of me. "Okay, I think it's time you started explaining a few things to me."

I looked at him and let out a sigh. "Where do you want me to start?"

"What just happened out there? You were fine one moment and then the next you were in so much pain and on the ground." He took hold of both of my hands and gazed into my eyes.

"Sometimes, I get these… headaches. I haven't had one for a few years now, but they are pretty bad. It feels like my head is burning." It was difficult to explain, the pain was unbearable most of the time.

"Why did you want me to keep talking?"

"I needed something to focus on, a distraction from the pain. The sound of your voice seemed to work pretty well. Usually I just recite a poem or something until it starts to clear, but for some reason your voice seemed to do the job a lot better." It was true, before it could have taken me hours to finally start to feel better, but with the Doctor talking to me, it was only a matter of minutes.

"Do you know what triggers these headaches?" He was speaking to me so softly. Now that I knew he was the man who had appeared before in my life I felt a lot more at ease around him.

"No, it just seems to happen randomly. Always has done and I'm guessing it always will." I had been to doctors about them before, they had sent me for so many tests but no one could find anything wrong.

"And are you sure your okay now?" I just nodded at him, I would get over it, I always did. "So, now what I want to know now is if Summer Richards would like to come with me."

I couldn't help but smile. I had waited for him to come back for so long and at first I didn't even know it was him. "Travel through the whole of time and space with you?" A grin spread across his face. "Yeah, why not."

The Doctor pulled me out of the chair and into a tight hug. Both of us were laughing. Finally thing's might just turn around for me and start to get better.

"Can we quickly pop back to the flat? I just want to pick a few things up. Pictures of my mum and stuff. If that's okay with you?" I was worried that he might say no and just want to move on to his next adventure.

"Of course we can! Can't expect you to leave anything of value to you behind in that flat. I bet your going to be glad to see the back of it." I smiled at him some more as he finally let me go and started running around the console.

I knew that it would be safer for me to sit down in the chair before we started off, so I sat myself back down and waited. Everything started to shake, I was starting to get used to it and that was a good thing.

Once we had landed the Doctor leaned against the console and just smiled at me. "Off you go then. Pack a bag and then we can go anywhere in the universe. Any time you want. Something tells me you like your history. So how about a trip to the past?"

"You know what, that sounds great." I jumped out of the chair and headed for the door. "Give me 5 minutes. There isn't that much I actually want to bring, so it really wont take too long at all. And don't you dare disappear on me." He held his hands up in defence.

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it. I'm just happy that this time you decided to accept my offer." I threw him a huge smile and bolted out of the door.

I walked straight out and into the living room, it was the same as we left it, only now it was morning. I went into my bedroom and pulled a wooden box out from under the bed. That was really all I wanted, the photographs that were in there and a few other little bits. Everything in that box meant something to me, my mothers old hair piece that she wore on her wedding day. Most of her jewellery I had to sell, but I managed to keep hold of one thing of hers, one of her rings. It was a full eternity ring, the one my father had given her before they were married.

I grabbed my overnight bag out of the wardrobe and chucked some clothes in. Jeans and some tops and a spare pair of trainers. I did actually think about getting changed out of my pyjamas but that would just waste more time.

I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a sigh. I wasn't going to miss the flat at all. I wasn't going to miss my life. I had no friends and no family and thanks to the Doctor, I had no job. I felt for the chain around my neck and pulled it out from under my pyjama top. I held the long, slim, glass pendant at the end of it in my hand. I still couldn't remember where I got it from but it was something I always had with me.

I twisted it around in my fingers, watching the tiny brass cogs and springs roll around. The little blue chips inside rolled around with them, adding that little bit of colour. I couldn't help but smile, there was something familiar and comforting about it.

I picked up my bag and the box and took one last look around the room before going back into the living room. I was happy to see that the Doctor had kept his word and was still waiting for me. He must have known I was coming because the door opened just as I reached them.

"Is that all you have?" He asked, looking at the relatively small bag and the box under my arm.

"Yup. Like I said, I had to sell everything that I could to pull some money together. I only kept a few little things. Anything important to me is in this box. I just grabbed a few clothes as well, although I did notice a pretty big wardrobe somewhere around here." He took the box from under my arm and took my free hand and led me back into the TARDIS.

"First, let's get out of here. I will go put her in orbit somewhere and then we can go and find you a room." He took me over to the console with him and put the box down by his feet. "Think you can hold on tight enough this time?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, I think I can manage to hang on this time. Like you said before, the shop was exploding so that probably didn't help with the turbulence." I gripped onto the side of the console as he pulled down the lever.

For some reason the shaking didn't seem nearly as bad as it had done before. It seemed to be effecting the Doctor more than me, which did make me laugh a little. He looked at me a frowned, then I decided to get a little braver and I stopped holding on and took a step back from the console. His mouth just dropped open as he was almost thrown to the floor while I stood there laughing at him.

The shaking finally calmed, and the Doctor was lying on his back on the floor. I walked over to him and tried to contain my laughter. "You okay down there Doctor?" I asked him, still trying my hardest not to laugh at him.

"How did you manage to stay on your feet and not be thrown around? Why did I end up on the floor and you just got to stand there and laugh at me?" He was frowning at me, I let out a laugh and quickly turned it into a cough.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just felt a little bit braver and decided to let go. Guess I'm finally getting used to your flying skills." I held out a hand to him to help him up and he accepted it, shaking his head.

"Right, anyway. Let's go and find your room." He picked up my box and dragged me up some stairs and down the corridors. "So how much did you manage to explore before you ended up in the library?" He asked me as we were walking.

"Oh, I had a glance at the wardrobe but that was it really. As soon as I found the library, well, that's where I stayed."

"So you like history, I've worked that much out, but that else?"

I didn't even hesitate. "English literature and science. More literature than science I think though. History, English then science."

He looked over at me and smiled. "Nice choices. Good things to be interested in."

"Thanks. I have a degree in History and Literature. I was planning on going further and becoming a teacher or something but plans changed when stuff happened." I didn't want to say what stuff, the Doctor could probably understand what I meant without having to say it.

I was right and he just nodded at me as we carried on walking. We stopped when an oak door appeared in front of us. I ran my hand over the door and felt my fingertips tingle. I smiled when I noticed the name carved into the wood.

"I guess this is my room then." I said as I turned to look at the Doctor. He was grinning madly, I wasn't exactly sure why. I just shook my head at him and turned the handle, opening the door slowly.

What I saw inside was astonishing. All the furnishing was oak, the bed frame, the wardrobe, and the writing desk, all of it. The walls were just swirls of colours, and the ceiling just seemed to be full of stars. I didn't actually know what to say, and it would appear the Doctor didn't either.

He was standing there, looking at the room, not moving. His eyes were wide and it looked as if he was upset for some reason. "Doctor, is everything okay?" I asked him, gently tugging at the hand I was holding.

He blinked several times before turning to me and smiling. "Yes, sorry. I was thinking, I do that a lot." I couldn't help but frown at him, I was sure there was something he wasn't telling me.

"Well, this room is absolutely amazing. And I mean seriously amazing." I walked over to the bed and placed my bag down on it. It was a four-poster bed with the softest silk I had ever felt hanging from it.

The Doctor walked over and placed the box down on the small table. "The TARDIS decided this was the perfect room for you. I take it you like oak?"

"Um, yeah. I always have, never could explain why but I just do. Oh, I love this room." I hugged the Doctor, taking him slightly by surprise. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Now, I suggest you get some sleep." He told me as he pulled away.

"Sleep? Who needs sleep when you have a machine that can travel through time and space? Come on, where can we go first?" I felt too excited to sleep but the look on the Doctor's face told me that I was going to be fighting a loosing battle by arguing with him.

"Exactly, it's a time machine. We can go anywhere, whenever we like. But first, you really should get some sleep. It was the middle of the night when I came to you, I'm pretty sure you are tired. Plus you hit your head not so long ago. I'd feel better if you at least tried to sleep."

I let out a sigh, knowing he was right. "Yes, okay fine. Sleep, I get it." I said as I threw myself onto the bed. I couldn't believe how soft it was. "Night night then." I closed my eyes and pretended to go to sleep, making it obvious by letting out some rather loud fake snores.

I heard the Doctor laughing and had to try to hold in my own but it was no use. I let a few giggles escape. "I hope you don't really snore that loudly." He said as he flopped himself on the bed next to me.

"I'll have you know that I don't snore at all. As far as I am aware." I said as I rolled over onto my other side to face him. Our faces were only inches apart.

"Well that's good to know. But somehow I find it hard to believe. That fake snore was just too good." The Doctor was grinning away at me.

"Fine. Why don't you stay here and find out for yourself then? I do not snore." I'm not quite sure what made me say that. I hardly knew the man, or alien, and I was asking him to stay in my room while I slept.

"All right then. I will. But the moment you start snoring I am going to start sound proofing this room so I never have to hear it again." I was shocked that he said he would stay there, that was the last thing that I was expecting. But I smiled at him all the same.

"And when you realise that I don't snore… well, I haven't thought that far ahead yet but trust me, you're not going to enjoy it." I had nothing to threaten him with.

He just laughed at me, but not in a nasty way. "Deal. Now stop talking and go to sleep."

It was as if his words had some kind of power over me, as I suddenly felt really tired. I could feel my eyes closing and was trying to fight against them, but I wasn't going to win. I pulled my legs up and managed to somehow get myself under the covers. It was so warm and the smell on the covers was so familiar, but I just couldn't place it.  
"Goodnight, Doctor." I mumbled, knowing that I was about to drift off into what I hoped would be a more restful sleep than before.

"Sleep well, Summer." I heard the Doctor reply before feeling him kiss my forehead. I felt movement on the bed and thought that the Doctor had gotten up to leave but when I moved over slightly I felt him still lying there. He must have just made himself more comfortable.

In the background I could hear a humming, everything around me felt so familiar, but I knew that was impossible.

* * *

A/N: I hope all my lovely readers enjoyed this. So let me know what you guys think, I do worry that Summer is a bit Mary-Sue, so come on people! Review! Let me know what you think.

Reviews make me smiled and want to post more often.

Pippa.


	4. Dreams and Secrets

Disclaimer: I own Summer. The process of trying to haggle for the rights to anything else Doctor Who related is still ongoing. In other words, the BBC still own it.

* * *

"_What are you doing? Let me go!" I screamed, trying to get away from the person holding my waist. _

"_Stop screaming or they will hear you." The person holding me whispered. The voice sounded familiar, like I had heard it in a dream before. "I'm getting you out of here and sending you somewhere safe. You're my only child, I will not let you die in a place like this."_

_Only child? "Mum?" There was silence. "I'm not going anywhere, he's still out there somewhere and I am going to find him, no matter what." _

"_No, you're not. He's gone. He left this planet years ago and you know that. Now stop being so stubborn." She hissed in my ear before dragging me off. _

"_What are we doing in here? Where are we going?" I watched as the woman moved around the control unit in the centre of the room. _

"_Please, forgive me for this, but it's the only way." She was crying. Why was she crying? What was she asking forgiveness for?_

"_Tell me what's going on!" I demanded, still trying to understand. I felt like I was going to start crying soon. _

"_This is the only way to keep you safe, I'm sorry. Just remember that I love you." She kissed me on the head. The next thing I knew, pain was soaring through my body. Everything was hurting so much and I couldn't bare it._

Someone was shaking me. "Summer? Summer wake up!" I recognised that voice. "Summer, please wake up."

"Doctor…" I opened my eyes to see his staring straight back at mine. Worry was etched all over his face. "Was I snoring?" I wondered why he had been so desperate to wake me up, but then I remembered that dream. I let out a sigh. "I was screaming again wasn't I?"

"Yes." He said to me softly. I sat myself up, pulling my knees towards my chest and put my head in my hands. It was those stupid dreams. I felt the Doctor wrap both his arms around me. "Were you having another bad dream?"

I didn't lift my head up, I just tried to nod. They never used to be this bad, and I never used to be able to remember them when I woke up. But that was the second one I had had since entering the TARDIS and both times the Doctor woke me up because I was screaming.

"Do you remember what it was about?" He was still speaking so softly and I felt a little more relaxed. I nodded again, hoping he would understand. "Summer, tell me about them." I shook my head, there was no way I wanted to relive that. Just thinking about it made me shake with fear from the pain I felt. "I want to help you but you need to talk to me."

"It hurt, I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to remember it." My voice was so quiet, not because it was hurting from the screaming, but because I was afraid. The Doctor seemed to accept my answer and didn't say another word. He just kept his arms around me while I tried to pull myself together. I could feel myself shaking still, I just had to remember that it was only a dream, no matter how real it felt, it was a dream.

I wasn't sure how long we had been sitting there in silence for but it must have been at least an hour. "How about a nice cup of tea?" The Doctor asked, he was doing his best to get me to respond to him. He still hadn't moved his arms but he was trying to tug me to sit up properly.

Eventually I gave in and lifted my head up and looked at him. "Sure." My voice was still quiet but the Doctor just smiled at me before getting himself off the bed. He stood there looking at me before offering out his hands. I forced myself to smile back at him before taking his hands and letting him pull me off the bed.

He kept an arm around me as he led me through various corridors and into a kitchen. It was huge. It was bigger than any kitchen really needed to be, unless you had several people cooking in there at the same time. The cooker was like something you would see in a restaurant and the fridge was bigger than any I had ever seen in my life.

"Wait until you see the inside of the fridge." The Doctor whispered to me. Clearly he had seen how amazed I was by the sight of the kitchen. The Doctor led me to the large, round table in the room and pulled a chair out for me to sit on.

I sat down and watched him set about the kitchen making some tea. "How… how long was I asleep for before…"

He didn't looked at me when he answered, he just carried on making the tea. "A few hours. You were sleeping pretty peacefully at first. Gave me such a fright when you started screaming. I still think you're out to make me deaf."

"Sorry. I'm really not trying to damage your hearing. I promise." I let out a sigh, the Doctor must think I'm nothing but trouble. "If you want to take me back, then… then that's fine. I'd understand."

The Doctor immediately stopped what he was doing and came over and kneeled down next to me, taking hold of both my hands. "Why would I want to do that?" He was serious. "You've only just got here."

"Well, just look at me. I'm nothing special and all I seem to do is scream in your ears. I can't expect you to put up with me, it's not fair." I broke my gaze and let it fall to the floor.

I felt him put a hand under my chin and then he gently pulled my head up to see my eyes again. "Oh, but you are special. You're my Summer, nothing can be more special then that." I could feel tears prickling my eyes, he was being so nice ad kind to me, it was something that I had long forgotten people could be.

The kettle flicked off and he smiled at me before getting up and pouring the boiling water into a teapot. He brought everything over to the table and sat down beside me. "After this, why don't you go and get yourself changed and we can go anywhere you like. The whole of time and space."

I finally managed to give him a real smile. "Sounds like a good plan to me." I wasn't tired at all anymore, and I was glad that he hadn't suggested I try to get some more sleep.

We sat there and drank our tea. The Doctor told me about some of his adventures and some of the people he had travelled with in the past. He told me about a little Scottish girl who he had met when he had regenerated into his current body.

"I was about to head back to her when the TARDIS alerted me to that machine. She has already waited for me for 12 years. But since we have a time machine we can go and pick her up any time we want." He told me as he drained the rest of the tea from his cup.

"Doctor, there's something you never explained to me earlier." He looked at me, his eyes didn't seem to show as much sadness as they had done when I first saw him at the bookshop. "You said that I called the TARDIS to me, can you explain what you mean by that?"

He put down his cup and gave me a huge smiled. "Of course I can. The TARDIS isn't just a ship, she's alive and she's telepathic. It would seem you have some telepathic abilities and you used that ability to call the TARDIS. She responds to you."

Only some of what he said made any sense to me, but I accepted what he told me. "Okay, so why did she only bring you to me those times? Why didn't she come when I wanted you to after my father had died?" I had wished so hard that he would come back, and surely if I was able to call his ship, that would have been one of the times I most wanted him to appear.

"Ah, well you see, she only brought me to you when you needed me the most. After he died, you were still able to look after yourself and you weren't in any danger. You were living your life." I wanted to correct him, and tell him that I wasn't living any kind of life but I decided to leave it. He had done so much for me in the past and he was there for me now.

"You didn't realise I was the same person again did you?" I remembered back to meeting him at the bookshop, he had no idea I was the same Summer. But then I had no idea that he was my Doctor.

"Not until you first came into the TARDIS. That's when I realised. You spoke how I remembered you speaking and then told me about your hair. I'm getting old, I'm not a quick as I used to be." I could help but laugh at him a little.

"You're only as old as you feel." I told him as I finished my tea and put the empty cup down on the table. "Right, well I think I am going to get washed and dressed now." I stood up and tucked the chair back under the table. "See you in a little bit."

Before I could make it to the door the Doctor had grabbed hold of me and was hugging me so tightly. I hugged him back just as much. It was hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago I was living my normal life that I hated so much. Now I was about to start my adventures through time and space with the man that I had longed to see again.

"If you get lost, just ask the TARDIS. She will help you find your way around. Has she started talking to you yet?" He asked me as we finally broke apart.

"Um, no I don't think she has. Telepathy, I'm guess I would be hearing a voice in my head or something?" He nodded at me. I was about to walk out of the door when a thought occurred to me. "Is it possible for her to talk to me even when I'm not in here?"

He ran a hand through his floppy hair, thinking about his answer. "Well, that's a good question. One I don't think I can really answer. Even I don't understand the way she works sometimes. It may be possible, but I'm really not sure. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, just… curious. You should know that from all the questions I asked you about your sonic screwdriver before." I smiled at him and turned around, walking out the door and heading back to find my room.

Once I was back in my room I saw a load of empty photo frames sitting on one of the shelves. I could have sworn they hadn't been there before. I smiled to myself and picked up the wooden box that the Doctor had left by the side of the bed. I slowly went through all the photographs I had and pick out some of the best ones of my mother and put them in the frames.

The fames themselves were oak as well, I definitely had a thing for oak. I placed them on the shelf and then started to pull out some of the other odd bits I had in there. I placed the hairpiece next to the photo of my mother in her wedding dress. She had been so happy, you could just see by the way she looked at the man standing next to her that they were in love.

There were postcards from family holidays and a small glass bottle filled with sand. That was from one of the holidays, the first time the three of us ever went to the beach. I was only 3 at the time. Apparently I had kept filling my bucket up with sand and throwing it in her bag so she went and bought the bottle so that I could take some of the beach home with us.

The last thing I pulled out was an ancient looking fob watch. I couldn't remember who it belonged to, it was too old to have been my fathers so I just assumed it must have been one of my grandfathers. I don't think I ever even asked about it before, it was just there. I put it on the shelf with everything else and took a step back to look at it all. The room felt a little more comforting now, having my mother watching over me.

I grabbed my bag and started pulling my clothes out, I really hadn't brought much at all. I put most of the stuff away in the wardrobe but made sure to leave something out to wear after getting washed. I decided to go with a pair of jeans and my favourite peach coloured shirt.

When I went into the bathroom I was hit by the brilliance of the TARDIS again. The room had been designed so perfectly, like she had taken a snap shot of images from my mind. I was quick to turn the shower on and jump in, and it was the best shower I could ever remember.

Once I was washed and dressed I decided that the best way to find the Doctor was to head back to the console room. I followed my instinct and wandered through the corridors without even thinking. I ended up in the console room in no time to find the Doctor staring intensely at a monitor.

"So where are we going then, Doctor?" I called to him from the stairs, making him jump slightly.

He quickly shut off the screen, it was as if he didn't want me to see what he had been looking at but I just shrugged it off. He could have been looking at anything. "Where do you want to go? 13th century France? Go meet Henry VIII? Pay a visit to my mate Charlie?"

"Charlie who? History is full of Charlie's." I told him as I watched him dash around the console.

"Oh um, that's true. I've met most of them, but my favourite was Charles Dickens. He was brilliant, helped me save Cardiff." The Doctor seemed to have a distant look on his face, as if he was trying hard to remember something, but remembering hurt him.

"Bet you've met Shakespeare as well." I walked over to the console where he was standing and he seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"Yup. So come on then, where do you want to go?"

I looked at the Doctor, he was so happy and excited. I had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go, all I knew was that I never wanted to go back to that flat or that stupid life I was leading. "I don't know. Anywhere will do me."

"Right, random trip. Anywhere, any when, Summer Richards, hold on tight." He pulled down the lever and the whole place began to shake. I really was getting used to it and so didn't hold on as tightly as I could have. The Doctor was being thrown all over the place again where as I seemed to be able to keep my balance rather well.

Once everything had stopped I bounced over to where the Doctor was holding on. "So, where and when are we?" I asked him excitedly.

"Out side those doors, is a completely different time. Now, do you remember the rules?" He asked me as he dragged me over to the doors.

"Yes. Rule one, don't wander off. Rule two, do what you say." He smiled and nodded at me. "Come on then, let's have a look."

He opened the door and I slowly stepped out. I could feel the excitement bubbling inside me but it stopped the moment I recognised my surroundings. "Um, so what year is this then Doctor?" I asked him as he closed the door behind him.

He looked down at his watch. "Ah, okay, maybe not such a completely different time. We've gone back 3 years. I wonder where we are…"

"Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. And I'm guessing it's around early August." I told him as I watched the wind farm out to sea and listened to the helicopter flying overhead.

The Doctor just stared at me. "And how do you know all that?"

I let out a sigh. "Because I used to come here every year as a kid. We always had a few weeks holiday abroad but we always found a week to spend here."

"And what about knowing what time of year it was?" He took a step closer to me, frowning at me.

"Well, it's the middle of the day and all the children should be in school, but if you look, the beach is packed with families. That mean's that the summer holidays have started and they tend to start the end of July."

"Brilliant! You managed to work all that out just from observation and your general knowledge." He beamed at me, which made me blush a little. "Right, so since you know this place, what shall we do?"

"Well, I suppose we could just go and have a walk? I bet I could tell you more about this place than you could tell me."

"Right, you're on. Come along then." He grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me down the sand dunes that the TARDIS had landed in and right towards the sea.

We walked toward the town along the beach. I told him everything I could ever remember about the place. There had been a tour bus some time back, and a lot of the information from that was still stuck in my head so that helped.

The Doctor had been really impressed and had not been able to add much to my knowledge of the area. As we walked past one of the little holiday gift shops I quickly glanced at the date, which gave me even more way's to impress the Doctor.

"So, what do you want to do now then, Doctor?" I asked him as we finally crashed out on the beach. We had done so much walking and it was rather warm. I laid there, propped up by my elbows, looking out across the horizon.

The Doctor was laying down completely, his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. "Well, what do you want to do next, Summer?"

I thought for a moment before letting a smile spread across my face. "Fancy hanging around here a bit more? We can grab something to eat and decide from there?"

He turned his head and looked at me, a huge smile on his face. "What are you up to?"

"Me? I'm not up to anything. What would even make you say that?" I pulled a face at him, pretending to be hurt, but we both fell around laughing instead.

We stayed on the beach for a little longer, I insisted that the Doctor come and have a paddle with me before we went to have dinner. He wasn't very cooperative at first, he really didn't want to go. I noticed an abandoned child's bucket and quickly formed a plan. "Doctor, if you don't come with me to the sea, I will make sure to bring the sea to you. Is that understood?"

He watched me carefully, but I managed to keep my posture and my pretence. "Right, okay, fine! Let's go then." He dragged me towards the sea and I gave the bucket to a child as we were passing.

We walked back across the beach and to the promenade. "What do you say to fish and chips?" I asked the Doctor as we made our way past all the amusement arcades.

"Ah, fish and chip at the seaside. It's a must." He told me, as he looked at all the neon lights.

"Come on then, I know just the place. Best fish and chips in Yarmouth. At least I hope they still are." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along with me.

An hour later we were sitting on the edge of the promenade, our feet dangling above the sand below. The sky was much darker now, and the sky was still clear. I just sat there looking up at the stars when the Doctor made my jump by putting an arm around me.

"We should start heading back soon." He told me softly.

I nodded at him. "Yeah, but not just yet. There's one last thing I want to do before we leave."

"And what's that?" He asked before jumping out of his skin when there was a loud bang. I didn't even flinch, I already knew it was going to happen.

"Watch the fireworks." I whispered as a tear slipped down my cheek.

Once the fireworks were over the Doctor helped me to get up and gave me his tweed jacket. It was a lot colder than it had been during the day and I wasn't quite prepared for the chill that was hitting me.

"Summer, are you okay?" The Doctor asked me as we walked back towards the TARDIS. It was going to be a rather long walk.

"Me, yeah I'm fine." I told him as I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the ground. Then I saw the Doctor's black boots in front of me and looked up to see him standing there, blocking my way. I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't believe that I really was okay and I let out a sigh. "I haven't been here since my mum died. This was always her favourite place in the world to go. We always used to sit and watch the fireworks together."

The Doctor didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I closed my eyes and let the silent tears fall before taking a deep breath and pulling myself together. "Anyway, come on. We have a time machine to get back to." He smiled at me and took my hand as we kept on walking.

We soon made it back to the TARDIS and I gave the Doctor back his jacket the moment we were both through the doors. It was warm and comfortable in the TARDIS, always the perfect temperature.

I watched as the Doctor walked around the console, he looked so deep in thought. "I'm going to go make tea, do you want some?" I asked him as I headed up the steps towards the corridor.

"Ah yes, that would be lovely. Know where the kitchen is?" He asked me, not looking up from what he was doing.

"Yes, and if I get lost I can just ask. Won't be long." I called back as I headed along the maze of corridors. For me, it wasn't a maze. I had yet to get lost finding anywhere, it seemed like I already knew where everything was and that the TARDIS would never let me get lost in the first place.

I pulled my MP3 player out of my pocket, I had forgotten I had actually brought it with me, and put the earphones in. I scrolled through my collection, I had over 2000 songs on it to choose from. In the end I just set it on shuffle and let it pick for me. I ended up dancing around the kitchen while making the tea, which was something I used to do at home as well.

Once the tea was ready I turned it off and walked back to the console room. He was under the glass floor, with a wrench, hitting something. The TARDIS hummed loudly and I heard someone in my head. '_Tell him to stop that right now. Hello Summer, I'm the TARDIS by the way._' I smiled and went down the steps to where the Doctor was.

"I'd stop doing that if I was you Doctor. She doesn't like it." He quickly jumped up. Clearly I had startled him.

"How do you know?" He asked as I handed him his cup of tea.

"She told me. She asked me to tell you to stop doing that. And, since she can easily throw us into a black hole or something I think it's best that you listen to her and stop." He pouted a little which made me laugh at him. Unfortunately I had taken a swig of my tea and started coughing and spluttering.

We both sat in the console room and the Doctor told me some more of his stories about the places he had been and seen. I was amazed at some of the things he had seen and done. Some of it was terrifying. He told me about the Daleks and he instantly noticed me tense up when he mentioned them.

"Don't worry, Summer. I'm the Oncoming Storm, and as long as I am around, the Daleks will never win." He was doing his best to reassure me. I had seen the Dalek's before and they scared the hell out of me.

"What about the Cybermen? How do they feel about you exactly? The same as the Dalek's do?"

He frowned at me, and I instantly regretted saying anything. "Summer, I admit, travelling with me is dangerous and sometimes people don't make it home. But I would never let anything happen to you."

I smiled at him. '_Trust him, Summer._' I nodded, both at the Doctor and the TARDIS. If she was telling me to trust him, then I would. For some reason I already trusted the TARDIS.

I put my hand over my mouth as I yawned. "Right, well I think I'm going to go and get a few hours sleep. Just try not to break anything. I don't want her to have to wake me up to come and force you to stop whatever you're doing to her."

"Yes, fine. I will behave. My own ship has turned against me, that really isn't fair you know." He said as he gave me a hug.

'_Tell him to go and pick up Amelia Pond. I'm sure you will love her, plus there is something we need to work out about her._'

"If you want something to do, go and pick up Amelia Pond. You can't leave her waiting for you forever."

He let out a sigh as he let me go. "She told you to tell me that didn't she?" The TARDIS shuddered a little and hummed. "Okay, Summer Richards, you get some sleep and I will go pick up Amy Pond."

"Good." I said, giving him my best smile. "Night then Doctor." I called as I started heading towards the corridor.

"Sleep well Summer."

Once I was in my room I quickly got changed and snuggled into the bed. It was so warm and comfortable and I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I was happy, finally, and was about to meet someone else who had waited a long time for the Doctor.

* * *

A/N: Hope you fantastic, brilliant, amazing people are enjoying it so far. The next chapter we get Amy come and join the party. Which means there is only 1 more original chapter to be before we pick up the series 5 stories. I hope everyone will still be reading by then, or better still, more people should be reading by then!

A big thank you to all the people who have favourite/followed. It makes me do my happy dance when i get those emails. What I would really love is some more reviews. There have been so few! So come on guys! Let's take it up a notch! Love you all!

Pippa.


	5. Here Comes Amy Pond

Disclaimer: Still only own Summer. But I promise you, I am working on owning anything and everything else.

* * *

_All I could feel was the pain. Apart from my screams all I could hear was a woman crying in the background. The tears were streaming down my face as a golden light shone all around me. _

_Everything I was, the person who I had become, was being ripped out of me. All my memories, everything I knew. All the deaths I had seen, the people I had lost and mourned for. It was all being pulled out of my head, and it hurt. _

_Why wasn't he there? He said he would always be there to protect me, he promised he would never leave me but he did. He was gone and now I was going to lose everything. _

The door to my room flew open and the Doctor came charging over to me as I quickly opened my eyes. I sat up in my bed and held onto him tightly, unable to stop the tears from falling down my face and soaking into his jacket.

"Oh, Summer. I'm here it's okay. I never should have left you on your own, I'm so sorry." The Doctor said, kissing the top of my head.

"It's not your fault." I eventually managed to whisper to him as my sobs started to recede. "So what happened this time?" I knew he hadn't been in the room so clearly it must have been something more then just me screaming.

"Well, you were screaming and crying in your sleep." He told me softly, still not letting me go.

"I know that much, but how did you know? Don't tell me you heard the screams all the way from the console?" I moaned, that would not have been a good thing.

"No, the TARDIS was shaking and making a lot of noise. Basically, she told me that you needed me."

I finally pulled my head up and looked over the Doctor's shoulder to see a red haired woman standing just outside of the door, looking a little sheepish. I smiled at her. "It's okay, Amy, you can come in."

"Ah yes! Amy Pond, this is Summer Richards. She's part of the reason I was late." The Doctor said, finally letting me go and dragging Amy into the room and sitting her on the bed as well.

'_And with that comment he just lost access to the library for a few weeks._' The TARDIS said in my head. I let out a little laugh and the Doctor frowned at me. '_Tell him._'

"Good luck finding the library. I think she just moved it to somewhere you will never find it as punishment for blaming me and her for your poor flying skills." I told him with a smirk on my face.

"What?" He darted out of the room in search of the library. I just shook my head at him, he was never going to find it if she didn't want him to.

"How late was he this time?" I asked the girl sitting on my bed.

"Um, 2 years." Amy answered nervously. "How did you know he was late before? And how did you know my name?"

"The Doctor told me about you. You've waited 14 years for him. He crashed in your back garden when you were little. He had only just regenerated. There was a crack in your bedroom wall, and the Doctor closed it but Prisoner Zero had escaped and was hiding in a room in your house with a perception filter around it. You hit him over the head with a cricket bat and then pretended to be the police."

Amy just looked at me, stunned. "He told you, he really did tell you."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry he was late. His driving is awful and he likes to blame it on other people, or so I've been told." I said, listening to what the TARDIS was telling me about how he failed to pass his test.

"So, you know everything about me, care to tell me who you are?" Amy asked politely. It was only fair really.

"Sure, I'm Summer, and I'm from London. This is the third time that I have met the Doctor, he was a different man the first time we met, and I was only a kid as well. My mother had just died and he was the only person who bothered to talk to me. I ran away from my family that day, no one had told me she had been sick so it was a big shock for me." I was trying my hardest not to get emotional.

"Sorry about your mum." Amy said, moving a little closer to me on the bed.

"Thanks. Anyway years later he came back again. After she died my father became violent and the Doctor saved me from his fists. He didn't actually know it was me at first because I looked so different, but then he asked me to go with him and I said no."

"Why did you say no to him?" Amy asked me curiously.

"As long as my father was still alive, there was still hope he might get better. At the end of the day we were still family." I let out a sigh. That was my old life, the life where I done nothing but work, eat and sleep.

"And when did you finally meet him again?"

"Umm, a few days ago. I think. It's hard to keep track of time in here. He blew up my workplace, destroyed an alien machine that was trying to rip a hole in the time vortex and saved the day, again. And also didn't recognise me, again." I said giving her a weak smile.

"And then she finally agreed to come with me. If I had know who she was straight away I wouldn't have even given her the choice." The Doctor said, standing in the doorway looking very frustrated.

"Found the library then?" I asked him, knowing full well that he hadn't.

"No. But that's not important at the moment. How are you feeling now, Summer?" The Doctor asked me, plonking himself on the bed next to me.

"Better, thanks. Was I asleep for long than before?"

I could see the Doctor was thinking about his answer. "I think it was roughly the same amount of time as before actually."

"Oh well, a little sleep is better than none at all." I said as I started pulling the covers away from me.

"Ah, wait a minute." The Doctor said, grabbing a hold of my arm as I went to get up. "Are you going to tell me what it was this time?"

"Not a chance." He looked at me sadly. "If it makes it any better, I have told someone about them." That just seemed to confuse him and I let out a sigh. "The TARDIS, she knows. She's going to try to help me, block them so that I have dreamless sleeps." While the Doctor hadn't been there, the TARDIS had been trying to reassure me that he was on his way. She had seen the dreams, and told me that she would help.

He seemed to perk up a bit at that. "Good. Nice to see she is looking after you. Come on then, let's take Amy on her first adventure." He jumped off the bed again and ran to my side, grabbing both Amy's hand and mine.

"Can I at least get dressed first?" I cried as he dragged us both to the console room.

'_I wouldn't worry about getting dressed, look at Amelia, she is in her nightdress. At least your pyjamas are a little more suitable for running around in. I've left your trainers by the console if that helps._'

I smiled. '_Thanks._' I said in my mind, wondering if the TARDIS could actually hear me. I had never tried to talk to her before, so I was surprised when she answer back to me.

'_You are most welcome, Summer. Nice to see you have opened your mind to me more. And I will do what I can to stop those dreams._'

I thought about something that I had asked the Doctor and that he hadn't been able to answer. '_Can I ask you something?_'

'_Of course you can, my little Star._'

I hesitated, trying to think of the best way to ask her. '_When the Doctor was showing me the past of the last time I met him, I heard someone in my mind. They told me that Time Lords regenerate. Was that you?_'

'_No, that wasn't me. I wouldn't worry about it. Now pay attention to where you are walking, I've already had to shift the corridor three times to stop you from falling over._'

I turned my attention back to walking, or being dragged, and saw the Doctor giving me a very odd look. "What?" I asked him, giving him an equally odd look back. He just shook his head at me as we made it to the console room.

The Doctor started darting around the console, hitting buttons and flipping switches. I just sat myself down in one of the chairs and shook my head. I watched as Amy looked around the room in awe.

The Doctor grinned at me when he saw the Scottish girl's face. "So, are you okay, then? Because this place, sometimes it can make people feel a bit, you know."

Amy just kept looking around. "I'm fine. It's just, there's a whole world in here, just like you said. It's all true. I thought. Well, I started to think that maybe you were just like a madman with a box"

The Doctor stood next to Amy and smiled at her. "Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand about me, because it's important, and one day your life may depend on it. And the same goes for you as well Summer." I saluted towards him as he looked over at me before he shook his head and turned back to Amy. "I am definitely a madman with a box."

He charged back to the console, dragging me up with him and telling me what to do. In my head I had the TARDIS tell me the correct things to do.

"Goodbye Leadworth, hello everything." The Doctor said as he pulled the last lever and the TARDIS began to dematerialise.

"So, any idea where we are heading, or is it another mystery trip?" I asked the Doctor as he turned the scanner on and started messing around the console some more.

"Well, since you never really got to see much last time and this is Amy's first trip I do actually have some ideas."

"Okay, and are you going to tell either of us what that is?" I asked him, watching the grin on his face grow wider.

"No, just talk amongst yourselves." He told both Amy and I as he carried on at the console.

I shook my head and went over to stand next to Amy. She gave me a smile and I returned it. "So, what's life like in Leadworth then? I've spent all my life in London, so I'm guessing it's a bit different."

"It's not too bad. It's small, and quiet." I could tell by the way Amy was talking about it that she really didn't like it there much.

"So who is he then?" Amy just stared at me blankly. "Oh, come on. If you really hated it there that much you would have left, so clearly there is something keeping you there, or someone?"

"How did you know?" I just shrugged at her, it was pretty clear to me. "His name is Rory, Rory Williams. He's a nurse but he wants to be a doctor. What about you? Anyone special in your life?"

"Nah, no one. I spent all my time either at work or at home asleep." I said casually, trying not to make a big deal about it all.

"No friends or anything?" Amy asked me with a frown on her face.

"Nope. Just me. Never had many friends when I was at school. Kept my head down and to myself. Turns out, the only person I could every really categorise as a 'friend' is a time travelling, bow tie wearing alien." I looked over at the Doctor and saw him smiling back at me. "He was the only one who was ever there when I needed someone the most."

"And I always will be." The Doctor called over to me from the console.

"Yeah, you better be mister, or I'll find a way to hunt you down and give you hell." I called back to him, watching getting back to work on the console. The look on his face was bothering me, it was full of concentration and concern. "Doctor, what's wrong?" I walked over to where he was standing and looked at the scanner. I couldn't make sense of anything that was on the screen.

The Doctor turned to face me, it was hard to read his expression. "A friend of mine, long long ago, always used to say that to me. Always threatening to give me hell. You just reminded me of them for a moment. Anyway, you sure you're feeling all right?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started waving it around in my face again.

"Oi! What did I tell you about sticking that thing in my face." I said as I swatted his hand away from me. "I am absolutely fine. So just leave off will you." I whacked him playfully on the arm and his whole attitude suddenly changed and he relaxed.

There was a small explosion from underneath the console and the Doctor groaned. "Every time, she does this every single time!" I watched him as he threw his arms in the air out of frustration.

"Well, when you stop fixing things that are broken, maybe she will stop breaking things on purpose." I told him as he went under the glass platform to check out what had happened.

"You and the Doctor seem to get on pretty well." Amy said, noticing how playful I had been with the Doctor.

"Yeah, I suppose. I haven't really been around him long enough to decide if he is going to have a good or bad influence on me. He is a lot different from when I met him before, he literally is a different man." I told her as we both sat on the stairs, waiting for the Doctor to finish whatever it was he was doing.

"Well it looks like he cares about you a lot." Amy told me, giving me a nudge.

"What do you mean?" I was confused, I had no idea what she was talking about. I mean, I know he cares, that much is obvious, but what did Amy mean by saying 'a lot'?

"The way he went charging to you room when he was showing me around. I had trouble keeping up with him. And then when we got to your room, it was the way he was with you."

I looked at her with wide eyes, she was getting the completely wrong idea. "No, Amy, it's not like that." I let out a sigh, this was going to be difficult. "You see, I have these… dreams, okay more like nightmares, and they hurt. I mean, the pain that I feel in the dream, it's like I can feel it when I wake up as well."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't…" I smiled at Amy, she didn't now what to really say to me but I understood all the same what she was trying to say.

"It's okay. Sometimes these dreams bring on panic attacks as well, so the Doctor just wants to make sure everything is okay." I looked down at where he was and saw he was getting rather frustrated with his ship again.

"When you say the Doctor was different before, what do you mean?"

"Well, you met him for the first time right after his regeneration. I knew him from before then, the skinny man in the pinstriped suit." I told her, smiling at the memory.

"That's what he was wearing when I first saw him. I called him my Raggedy Doctor. When I was growing up, everyone thought I had imagined him. They sent me to 4 psychiatrists." I looked at her, wondering why she had seen so many. "They told me he wasn't real and I kept biting them." I couldn't help but laugh.

"You know what, I would have done the same thing. Did any of your friends believe you?"

"Well, kind of. Rory and Mels were the only ones who really listened to me." I nodded at her. "Mels and I used to cause so much trouble back in school because of it."

"And what about Rory?" I asked her. It was clear to me that they had grown up together.

"Well, he just kinda followed us around. Like a lost puppy. But we all got along pretty well."

I smiled at her. "That's good. At least you had people you could talk to. I spent most of my time talking to myself." I glanced over to where the Doctor was again. "How's it coming down there?" I called to him.

"Just like a woman, she's being stubborn." He called back before cursing to himself. Amy and I both laughed.

Amy and I sat there talking for almost an hour before the Doctor finally surfaced and told us that we were ready to go.

"So, come on, where are we actually going?" I asked. I was full of excitement, I couldn't wait for my first real adventure with the Doctor and Amy.

"That is a surprise." He said as he pulled down a lever and the whole place began to shake.

Amy and the Doctor both held onto the console tightly while I just leaned against the railings. The Doctor looked over at me and frowned. "Can you at least pretend to be holding onto something? Or actually just hold on? I don't want a repeat of what happened when we left the bookshop."

I rolled my eyes at him and put my hands behind me to hold onto the railing. "The shop was exploding. There was turbulence. It was hardly surprising that I ended up hitting my head and knocking myself unconscious."

"All the same, I'd always feel much better knowing that you were holding on." He called to me.

"Fine, I'm holing on. See!"

He smiled at me. "Good. Now, here we go!" The TARDIS continued to shake and the three of us continued to smile. The first of many adventures were about to begin.

* * *

A/N: Well, there we have it, the adventure's are about to begin. Not only does the Doctor have Amy Pond with him, he also has Summer Richards. How will thing's pan out with the Doctor having to deal with two women aboard his TARDIS? How much will thing's change? There's only one way to find out!

I have to admit, I have been slightly nervous about fitting Summer into the episodes. I write them, go back and read them and then wonder if it really is any good. This is why I need you guys! My lovely readers! Remember to review, let me know how you think I'm doing. Reviews make me smile, and give me the fire i need to carry on.

So, come on guys, review! Let me know what you think.

Pippa


	6. The Beast Below

Disclaimer: Yes, I own Summer. No, I don't own Doctor Who still. Like I keep saying, it's work in progress. One day, maybe.

Just a quick note, thank you to all who have been reading and adding and such. It would really mean a lot to me if you guys reviewed. I've been pretty nervous about starting the episodes. So help me out.

* * *

The Doctor was hanging onto Amy's ankle as she floated outside the TARDIS and in space. I was sitting on floor of the open doors, my legs dangling, as I looked at the sight before me. It was amazing, I had never seen anything like it before in my life.

Eventually the Doctor pulled Amy back inside the TARDIS and helped me to stand up. "Now that's interesting." He said as he spotted the ship flying underneath us. "29th century, solar flares roast the Earth and the entire human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him to the console. "So the whole planet just packs up and leaves?" I asked him as I watched him running around the console.

"Doctor?" I looked around the room for Amy, she was calling for the Doctor but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Migrating to the stars." He said as he carried on. I shook my head and went over to the doors.

"Doctor?" I pulled the doors open and looked at Amy, clinging on the outside of the TARDIS for dear life. I smiled at her and shook my head.

"Isn't that amazing?" He said before noticing neither Amy nor I were paying attention to him. He came over to the doors.

I looked at him and shook my head. "Doctor, you really need to pay better attention. You got so excited over that thing that you forgot about Amy." I nudged him in the side as he pulled Amy back inside.

"Well come on, I've found us a spaceship." He dragged us both over to the console and moved over to the scanner. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and shopping. Searching the stars for a new home."

"Can we go and see?" Amy asked at the same time I was thinking of asking.

"Course we can. But first, there's a thing." The Doctor told us, turning very serious.

"A thing? So there are rules and things? You really are alien aren't you Doctor?" I said as I folded my arms across my chest and waiting for him to explain this 'thing'.

"Yes. And it's an important thing. In fact, thing one, we are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets." I watched him as he looked at the scanner, showing an image of a little girl crying.

'_He is such a liar. He always get's involved_.' I smiled to myself when the TARDIS told me that.

"Ooh, that's interesting." The Doctor said before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the TARDIS and onto the spaceship.

"Yeah, Doctor, what about Am…" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as I he stood me over to one side and I watched him approach the little girl that we had seen on the scanner. It was difficult to see what he was doing but I just stayed there and watched until the Doctor came back to me and waved for Amy to come out.

"I'm in the future. Like, hundreds of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries." Amy said as we walked through London Market.

"Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one. Are you going to be as cheery as her, Summer?" He asked, turning to face me.

I smiled at him. "Never mind dead, look at this place." I said as I gestured all around me.

"Exactly, look at this place, isn't it wrong?" He said, beaming away at me. Clearly I had shown him that I was in no way the same as Amy.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, looking between the Doctor and me.

"Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?" The Doctor asked as we carried on walking.

"Is it the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles." Amy said as a cart went passed, being pushed along by someone riding a bicycle.

"Say's the girl in the nighty." I said to her, laughing a little.

Amy looked down at what she was wearing. The TARDIS had been right, my pyjamas were more suitable than her nightdress. I didn't look as out of place as she did. "Oh my God, I'm in my night." Amy said before looking over at me. "Hey, you're in your pyjamas."

"Yup, nice and comfy as well." I said, grinning away. I'd helped the Doctor save time and space in my pyjamas, exploring a spaceship was nothing.

"Now, come on, look around you. Both of you just look. Actually look." I looked around but my attention kept going back to the little girl, sitting on the bench, crying. "Life on a giant spaceship. Back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state." We stopped at next to a table with a glass of water on it. "Excuse me." He said before picking up the glass and putting it on the floor.

I watched him with great interest, there really did seem to be a lot wrong with Starship UK. "Sorry, checking all the water in this area." I told the man as the Doctor put the glass back on the table.

"There's an escaped fish." The Doctor told them before starting to walk off again. I just shook my head, an escaped fish? Really? "Now where was I?"

Amy looked at the Doctor blankly, I could see she was about to ask the same question I was thinking. I liked Amy, I preferred her asking all the questions. "Why did you just do that with the water?"

"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state, do you see it yet?" He looked between Amy and me. I nodded at him, I had noticed it, and it was the only thing I could seem to notice.

"There." I said, pointing to the girl sitting on the bench crying. The Doctor smiled at me and dragged us both over and sat us down on a bench not far from the girl.

"One little girl crying, so?" Amy said, clearly she didn't see what both the Doctor and I saw.

"Crying silently. Children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid. But when they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop." I said quietly. That's how I had been when the Doctor first found me. In that corner of the park, alone, crying for my mother.

The Doctor took a hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly. He knew what I was thinking back to, he was thinking the same. "Any parent knows that." He said, still keeping a hold of my hand.

Amy turned to him sharply. "Are you a parent?"

I watched the Doctor and noticed his expression change, for only a second. I squeezed his hand back. I didn't know everything about his past, and I would never ask, but something told me that it was very possible that he was, at some point.

"Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and none of them are asking her what's wrong, which means they already know, and it's something they don't talk about." I said, pulling the conversation away from Amy's question.

I saw the Doctor smile a little, I could tell from his eyes that he was grateful for moving the conversation on. "Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."

We all watched as the little girl got up and headed into one of the lifts. "Where'd she go?"

"Deck 2-0-7, Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh, er, this fell out of her pocket when I accidently bumped into her." He said, pulling a multi-coloured wallet out of his inside pocket and passing it to Amy.

I shook my head at him. "It took him four tries. You really need to work on your pickpocketing skills, Doctor."

"Ask her about those thing. The smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

Amy looked around at the booths. "But they're just things."

"They're clean. Everything else is all battered and filthy. Just look at it all. But no one has laid a finger on the booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them." I said nodding to the one closest to us.

"Summer's right, look. Ask Mandy, why are people scared of the things in the booths?" The Doctor said to Amy.

"No, hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed." Amy said defensively. I could help but laugh a little, I was glad that I never wore nightdresses.

"It's this or Leadworth. What do you thing? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" The Doctor watched her as she pulled a sulky face, knowing that she would not choose to go back to Leadworth. He let a little laugh out. "Gotcha. Meet us back here in half an hour." He said, looking at his watch.

"What are the pair of you gonna do?" Amy asked, clearly not happy about the current situation.

"What I always do. Stay out of trouble." He said as he pulled me up and off the bench. He paused and thought for a moment. "Badly."

He jumped over the bench, letting go of my hand before he did. I rolled my eyes at him and walked around it, letting him grab my hand as soon as I was standing next to him.

"So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?" Amy called as she got up and watched us walking away.

The Doctor looked over at me and smiled. "Yes." The three of us stood there smiling before I finally decided that we had to get to work.

"Eamus!" I called out before dragging the Doctor away. He looked at me oddly. "What?" He stopped walking and forced me to stop as well.

"What did you just say?"

I frowned at him. "I said eamus. Why?"

"Well, what made you say that?" I couldn't read the expression on his face. I didn't know if he was surprised or angry or confused. I had no idea what was going on inside his mind.

"I, um, don't really know. I just felt like saying it. It's Latin for…"

"Let's go. Yes, I know. But how do you know Latin?" The Doctor asked, taking a step closer to me.

"I… um… studied it for a bit. You know, history and literature, I ended up doing some Latin in my own time. Does it really matter?" He had that look on his face again, the one that scared me.

"Nope, it doesn't. So come on then, we have to find out what's going on here." The Doctor's face changed and he was smiling away at me again. I shook my head and let him drag me along behind him. He really did have some issues with having mood swings.

The Doctor climbed down and ladder and waited for me to get to the bottom before heading over to the walls and feeling them. I followed him and listened intensely, there was definitely something wrong about the ship.

"Doctor, this isn't right, I mean really not right." I said as I watched him pull out his screwdriver and scan the walls.

"So you can feel it as well?" He asked, looking at the glass of water on the floor.

"That's the point, isn't it? I can't feel anything. I may not be as clever as you but I am not a complete idiot. None of this makes sense." I told him as he lay on his stomach, staring at the water in the glass.

"The impossible truth in a glass of water. Not many people can see it. But you do, don't you, Doctor, Summer?" I looked up from the Doctor to see a woman wearing a mask and a long red velvet cloak standing in front of us.

The Doctor quickly jumped up off the floor and grabbed my hand, pushing me slightly behind him. "You know us?"

"Keep your voice down. They're everywhere." The woman hissed. "Tell me what you see in the glass."

"Who says I see anything?" The Doctor said, watching the woman carefully.

"Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room. Why?"

"No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So, I thought we'd take a look." The Doctor was still keeping me close behind him as he continued to explain to the woman why we were there. "Behind this wall, nothing, it's hollow. If I didn't know better I'd say there was…"

"No engine at all." The woman said, finishing off his sentence.

"But it's working. This ship is travelling through space. We saw it." I said as the Doctor finally relaxed his grip on my hand.

"The impossible truth, Summer. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."

"How?" I asked her, knowing the Doctor was wondering the same thing.

"I don't know." The woman admitted. "There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor, Summer. You're both our only hope. Your friend is safe. This will take you to her." She threw a device that I quickly caught and looked at. "Now go, quickly."

We both watched as the woman turned to leave. "Who are you? How do we find you again?" The Doctor asked as I passed the device to him.

"I am Liz Ten, and I will find you." She said before disappearing around the corner.

"Doctor, how did she know who I was?" I asked him quietly. I wasn't afraid exactly, just curious.

He took hold of my hand and we walked back towards the ladder to go and fetch Amy. "I don't know, but I'm sure we will soon find out. Come on then. Let's go get Amy out of whatever trouble she has gotten into."

We followed the directions on the device, which led us to some kind of cubical. Mandy was sitting on a bench outside when the door finally opened. The Doctor and I bounced up to it and stopped when we saw Amy inside.

She looked like she had been crying. "Amy?" I watched her as she pushed a button and the monitor turned off.

"What have you done?" The Doctor asked as he walked into the room, taking me with him.

I went and stood with Amy as the Doctor scanned the light in the middle of the room with his sonic screwdriver. "You okay, Amy?" I asked her quietly. I knew something was wrong, but she hadn't said anything to either of us since we got there.

"Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about 20 minutes." The Doctor said, jumping off the chair he had been standing on to reach the light.

"But why would I chose to forget?"

"Because everyone does. Everyone chooses the Forget button." Mandy said from the doorway.

I watched as the Doctor walked over to her. "Did you?" He asked, making me laugh a little.

"Doctor, she only a child. I very much doubt she is eligible to vote yet." I told him as I went to join him by Mandy. "Am I right?" I asked her.

Mandy nodded at me. "I'm 12. Anytime after you're 16 you're allowed to see the film and make your choice. And then once every 5 years."

"And once every 5 years everyone chooses to forget what they've learned. Democracy in action." The Doctor said before heading back to the control unit in the room.

"How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?" Mandy asked.

The Doctor let out a little laugh. "Oh, I'm way worse than Scottish, I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me."

Amy gave him a confused look. "It played for me."

"The difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human." He said as he worked on the unit.

"Why not? You look human. And what about Summer? Shouldn't it have played for you as well?" Amy asked me.

I walked back over and stood next to the Doctor. He looked at me in that odd way again. "Good point, Amy, well done. Why won't it play for you, Summer?"

I shrugged my shoulder at him. "I don't know, maybe because there's more than just one person in here and one of them isn't human?"

The Doctor looked at me for a moment longer before turning back to the screens again. "And anyway, I don't look human, you look Time Lord. We came first."

"So there are other Time Lords, yeah?" Amy asked as she came and stood next to me.

"No. There were, but there aren't… Just me now. Long story. There was a bad day, bad stuff happened. And you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever, because this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This." The Doctor rubbed his hands together and looked at the unit. "We're brining down the government." Then he hit the Protest button.

The door slammed closed, leaving the three of us trapped inside. I watched as the Smiler in the corner of the room turned to a very angry face. Then the floor started sliding away, opening up in the middle of the room.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." I moaned as the Doctor took hold of my hand.

"Say wheee!" The Doctor told us. Amy just screamed while I just shook my head.

Then we were falling. The Doctor was ahead of me and we dropped out of a chute. He didn't move quickly enough and I managed to land right on top of him. I couldn't help but laugh. He helped me up and we moved out of the way as Amy came down, still screaming her head off.

"High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel." The Doctor said as he pulled out his screwdriver and started scanning the area.

"Where are we?" I asked as I looked around us. It was pretty dark and disgusting. I could also hear something in my head, a scream or a cry. It was awful, but I tried my best to ignore it.

"Six hundred feet down, 20 miles laterally, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say Lancashire. What's this then, a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave." The Doctor carried on looked around and scanning.

"It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!" Amy complained as she tossed some of the slimy things around her at the Doctor.

"Yes but look at it, it looks like it's only food refuse. Organic. It must be coming through feeding tubes from all over the ship." I said as picked up some of the stuff and inspected it.

"But feeding what, though?" The Doctor asked no one in particular.

I listened as Amy talked about the floor, saying how it was like a waterbed. Then I heard a strange sound, and it sounded like some kind of animal.

"Erm, Doctor, I don't think it's a floor." I said, standing up straight and listening.

"No, Summer. You're right. The next word is kind of a scary word." He turned to Amy and grasped her shoulders as I stood next to him. "You probably want to take a moment, get yourself in a calm place."

I rolled my eyes. "Doctor, just get on with it."

"Yes, right. It's a tongue." Amy looked at him in shock. For some reason, I was less shocked, in fact, I wasn't too bothered about it at all. "A great big tongue."

I walked away from the Doctor, something had caught my eye. "Um, Doctor. I think the 'normal' entrance is closed for business." He came and stood next to me, looking at the teeth on the inside of the closed mouth. "Now would be a brilliant time for you to come up with a plan."

Everything started shaking. "Oh, not good. Doctor, plan, now!" I shouted at him as I almost lost my balance.

"Yes, I know. I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors." He told me as he worked away with his screwdriver.

"Chemo-what?" Amy asked, not understand what was going on.

"The eject button." I told her, holding onto the Doctor's arm for support.

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Come on, Amy. Think about it." I watched her as her eyes widened. She had finally caught onto what the Doctor was doing.

"Right then, this isn't going to be big on dignity." The Doctor said as he straightened his bow tie. "Geronimo!" I held onto the Doctor's hand tightly, it really was not going to be a pleasant experience.

"Summer? Are you okay?" I opened my eyes to see the Doctor looked at me with worried eyes.

"I'm fine. But I hope I never have to go through that ever again." I said as he helped me up. We both headed over to a door, the first thing we noticed was the button.

I turned around as I heard Amy coughing. "There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick." The Doctor told her as he also turned to look at her.

"Where are we?" She asked as I went and helped her up.

"I'd guess an overspill pipe." I told her as we walked over to the Doctor.

"Oh, God it stinks."

"Um yeah, that's not the pipe, Amy." I whispered to her. She sniffed herself and I laughed. "So come on, Doctor, how do we get out?"

"One door, one door switch, one condition." He told us. Something told me it was not going to be easy. "We forget everything we saw. Look familiar?" There was a Forget button beside the door. "That's the carrot." A light came on at the other end of the corridor. "Ooh, and here's the stick."

I watched as the Doctor walked up to the two Smilers, asking them questions. With each question he asked their faces became more and more angry.

"Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting, and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues?" I took a step back as the booths opened and the Smilers stepped out.

"Oh, nice one Doctor. You just had to push them didn't you?" I turned around and saw the door behind us open and the woman with the red cloak came through and shot the Smilers. "Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask."

She smiled at me before walking over to Amy. "You must be Amy. Liz, Liz Ten." She shook Amy's hand. "Yuck. Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick. You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave."

"How did you find us?" The Doctor asked her, taking a step closer to her.

"Stuck my gizmo on you." She said as she threw a device, similar to the one she gave us earlier. "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

"You're over 16, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it."

"No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject." Liz Ten said, shaking her head.

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know me and Summer?" The Doctor asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me to stand next to him.

"You two are a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious strangers, M O consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot and his shining star. I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

I looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, your family?"

We all turned around when we heard a strange noise coming from behind us. "They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move." Liz Ten said as she led us back and out the door. "The Doctor, old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Summer and her afternoon tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she Doctor? Knighted and exiled you on the same day. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you're friend Jack is a bad, bad boy."

I saw the look of realisation on the Doctor's face as we were walking. "Liz Ten!"

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And Down!" She called as she fired at the Smilers again. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

We followed Liz through to another corridor. "There's a high speed Vator through there. Oh, yeah. There's these things." We all noticed some kind of tentacle beating on the side of a mesh fence. "Any ideas?"

That's when I heard it again, the screaming. Someone or something was crying out in pain and agony. The sound was unbearable. I stood there, looking at the things thrashing around, paying no attention to the conversation around me. Whatever the creature was, it was in excruciating pain.

"Summer?" I looked over and saw the Doctor standing beside me. "Are you okay?" I nodded at him. "Then why are you crying?"

I put a hand to my face and wiped my cheek, he was right, I was crying. "I… I don't know."

"You can hear it can't you?" I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "You can hear the creature, crying out in agony." I nodded at him. He pulled me towards him and held me close, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be fine.

We ended up in the Queen's room. The floor was covered with glasses filled with water. "Why all the glasses?" The Doctor asked as he stepped between them.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what."

"A Queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?" I said as I looked at the mask.

"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. 10 years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon."

"How old were you when you came to the throne?" I asked her as I passed the mask to the Doctor. There was something about it that was bothering me. The age of the mask, what it was made from and how things just didn't seem to make sense.

"40, why?"

Amy looked at her stunned. "What, you're 50 now? No way."

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

The Doctor held up the mask. "And you always wear this in public?" He asked her, coming to sit next to me on the bed.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, because it's perfectly sculpted to your face." The Doctor said as he held it up to Liz's face.

She frowned at him, not understanding what he was saying. "Yeah, so what?"

"Oh, Liz. So everything." I said before jumping as the door creaked open and a group of cloaked men walked in. The Doctor quickly got off the bed, taking me with him but also keeping me behind him. He always seemed to be doing that.

"What are you doing? How dare you come in here?" Liz spat at the men.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now." One of the men said to her.

I watched as the man's face turned to that of a Smiled as the conversation progressed. Then we were lead through the ship to 'The Tower'.

That's when I heard the screaming again. As we were getting closer it became louder and clearer. I grasped the Doctor's hand tightly and he tried his best to smile at me, but I knew he was worrying about something. He was aware that I could hear it, and the tears were slipping down my face again.

"Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked, looking around the room. There was another one of those tentacles, hammering on a grate. In the room there was also a large machine sending bolts of electricity down a hole.

"The lowest point of Starship UK. The dungeon." The Doctor answered as we carried on looking around the room.

The Queen was off talking to some man called Hawthorne, but there was something else I had noticed. "There's children down here, why are there children here?" I asked as I saw them walking around, working, carrying items.

"Protestors and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason it won't eat the children." I was disgusted by what Hawthorne said, how could anyone be so heartless. He sounded like he didn't care. "You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

The Doctor gave my hand a squeeze before letting it go. "Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it? Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."

The Doctor moved over to the hole I had spotted before where electricity was being shot down. We all join him. As soon as I saw what was there I closed my eyes and backed away a little.

"What's that?" Liz asked as she saw what looked like a brain being electrocuted.

"Well, like I say, it depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly. Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go faster button." The Doctor explained. It was all getting too much for me, the cries in my head were so loud, it was hurting.

"I don't understand." Liz said, looked to the Doctor for more answers.

"Don't you? Try to, go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading you, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." I could hear the emotion in the Doctor's voice. He was angry and upset.

"Tell you what, normally it's above the range of human hearing. But Summer can hear it constantly, in her mind. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He ran over to the grate, pulled it off and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the tentacle that had sprung out. Everyone was now able to hear the same screams as I could, and they didn't like it.

"Stop it." Liz finally cried. The Doctor turned his screwdriver off so that the only person let to hear the sound was me. Liz looked at me. "And you can still hear it?" I nodded at her, wiping the fresh tears from my face. She turned to Hawthorne, "Who did this?"

"We act on instructions from the highest authority."

"I am the highest authority." Liz spat at him. "The creature will be released, now." No one moved. "I said now! Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor looked at the mask he was holding. "Liz. Your mask."

She turned to face him. "What about my mask?"

The Doctor tossed it over to her and she caught it with ease. "Look at it. It's old. At least 200 years old I'd say."

She looked at him in confusion. "Yeah? It's an antique. So?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300 years. And it's been a long old reign." Liz argued with him, insisting that it had only been 10. "10 years, and the same 10 years over and over again, always leading you here." He took hold of her hand and dragged her to a unit with 2 very familiar buttons on it, Forget and Abdicate.

Liz looked over at Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

"Only what you have ordered. We work for you, ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us."

The screen turned on and Liz watched a video of herself, explain what the creature was and how they came by it. It was a Star Whale, thought to be the last of its kind. And it came to them as their children screamed. They trapped it and built the ship around it.

"I voted for this. Why would I do that?" Amy asked as the video ended.

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." The Doctor informed her. I could see the anger in his eyes.

"I don't even remember doing it." Amy protested.

"You did it. That's what counts." The Doctor told her.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Amy said. I put an arm around her, I could see that she was getting more and more upset with the way the Doctor was acting.

"Oh, I don't care. When I'm done here, you're going home." He said dismissively as he started looking at some of the control units in the room.

Amy pulled away from me and stood closer to the Doctor. "Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it." He didn't even look at her. "Doctor!"

"Yeah, I know. You're only human."

Liz looked over at him. "What are you doing?"

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whales brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it." I could tell from the Doctor's voice that he didn't want to do it, but it was the option he thought was best.

"That'll be like killing it." Amy said, not happy with what the Doctor was about to do.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at us all. The three of us standing there, waiting. I could still hear the screaming but the tears were slowly stopping. "Look, three options. One, I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor anymore."

"There must be something we can do, some other way." Liz insisted.

"Nobody talk to me!" The Doctor shouted. "Nobody human has anything to say to me today."

I walked over to the Doctor and gently put my hand on his arm. He smiled at me as best he could. "Sorry, Summer. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is for you to hear the screams."

"It's okay. It just reminds me how cruel humans can be. I just wished there was another way." I tried my hardest to give him a smiled before walking off and sitting on the floor with Amy.

"Hey, you okay, Amy?" I asked her. The Doctor had vented all of his anger and frustration at her, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't Amy who trapped the Star Whale and made it suffer.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered quietly. "What about you? How you holding up?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I've been better, but I've also been worse. Look, don't let what the Doctor said get to you, okay? He doesn't want to do this, none of us want this to happen."

Amy let out a sigh. "I know, but what can we do?"

I looked around the room, at the children. Amy noticed it as well, the tentacle stopped thrashing around and was being gently stroked by Mandy. "Notice everything." I whispered to Amy as I stood up.

"The children screamed… and it won't eat the children." I whispered before thinking back to that day in the park when I first met the Doctor. "The children…" I looked at Amy, both of us wide eyed. "Amy, the children…" She nodded at me, we were both thinking exactly the same thing.

I charged over to the Doctor while Amy grabbed hold of Liz and dragged her to the unit with the two buttons on it. "Doctor, stop. Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" I called as I watched Amy.

The Doctor looked over at Amy as she pushed Liz's hand down on the Abdicate button. The whole ship started shaking, the Star Whale let out what sounded like a roar. "Amy, what have you done?"

"Nothing at all, am I right?" I asked, looking over at Hawthorne who was watching the monitors.

"We've increased speed." He exclaimed.

Amy and I smiled at each other. "Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Gotta help." Amy said with a grin.

"It's still here. I don't understand." Liz said in shock, unable to understand why the Star Whale was still there and the ship had not been torn to pieces.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago, it volunteered." I said, noticing the screaming in my head had gone.

"You didn't have to trap it or torture it, that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry." Amy said. I was glad that we had both managed to save both the Star Whale and the Doctor.

"What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then?" I said to Liz before turning to the Doctor. "If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

Amy and I both watched as the Doctor left the room. Liz and Hawthorne thanked both of us and Liz gave the mask to Amy. We left the room, arm in arm to go and find the Doctor.

"Has the screaming stopped?" Amy asked me as we eventually spotted the Doctor looking out of a huge window.

"Yeah, it's stopped now. No more screaming from the Star Whale." I smiled at her and we both hurried over to the Doctor.

"From Her Majesty. She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK." Amy said as she held out the mask.

"The pair of you could have killed everyone on this ship." The Doctor said seriously.

"You could have killed a Star Whale." Amy said quietly.

"And you both saved it. I know, I know." I went and stood on the other side of the Doctor as he spoke.

"Amazing though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery and loneliness, and it just made it kind." Amy said as she gazed out of the window.

"But neither of you could have known how it would react."

"You couldn't." I told him. "But we've seen it before. Very old and very kind and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?"

The Doctor grabbed both of us and the three of us hugged before walking back towards the TARDIS.

"Shouldn't we say goodbye? Won't they wonder where we went?" Amy asked, as we got closer to the TARDIS.

"For the rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write. Never mind them. Big day tomorrow." The Doctor said.

"Sorry what?" Amy said. There was something about the way Amy stopped and said that that made me think there was something going on that she wasn't telling either of us.

"Well, it's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine, I skip the little ones." The Doctor told us as he reached into his pocket to get the key out to open the TARDIS door. I leaned against the side, grinning away at the sound I was hearing in my head.

"You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning? Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just… just because you could?"

The Doctor turned to face Amy. "Once, a long time ago."

"What happened?"

"Hello." The Doctor waved at her before turning back to the TARDIS. That's when the ringing started inside.

"Right. Doctor, there's something I haven't told you. No, hang on. Is that a phone ringing?" She asked as she followed the Doctor and I into the blue box. "People phone you?

"Well, it's a phone box." He said as he walked around the console, getting me to do thing's to help him again. "Would you mind?" He pointed towards the phone and Amy picked it up.

"Hello? Sorry, who? No, seriously, who?" Amy moved the phone away from her face and turned to the Doctor. "Says he's the Prime Minister. First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you."

I shook my head. "Which Prime Minister?" I asked her, seeing that the Doctor was busy. Amy asked and said it was the British one. "Which British one?"

Amy put the phone back to her face. "Which British one?" She held the phone out to the Doctor. "Winston Churchill for you."

My eyes lit up in an instant. I loved Winston Churchill, the things he done for the country during the war, the way he stood tall through it all.

The Doctor took the phone from Amy. "Oh, hello dear. What's up?" The Doctor saw the smile on my face. "Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister, we're on our way."

"Are we going to meet Winston Churchill? Please tell me we are, please!" I was excited, if we were really going to met him that would be fantastic.

"Yes, we are. But first of all I think both of you should get some rest." The Doctor said as the TARDIS dematerialised.

"Aw, come on. I want to go meet Churchill. One of the greatest men in history. Come on, Doctor." I pleaded with him. I was too excited, I didn't want to sleep.

"We will go and see Winston, but after the pair of you have cleaned up and slept." The Doctor insisted. "Come on, let's go find Amy's room."

He dragged us both down the corridors until a door appeared in the wall. We said goodnight to Amy who seemed please with her room before the Doctor led me on to my room. The Doctor followed me into my room and sat down on the bed with me.

"Doctor, why could I hear the Star Whale screaming when no one else could?" That was something that had been bothering me. The only way everyone else had heard it was through the Doctor's screwdriver, amplifying it.

"I'm not sure. But I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." He said as he wrapped an arm around me.

"It's fine, really. Before we left, I could hear him singing instead. I wish everyone could have heard his song rather than his cries." I said, kicking off my trainers.

"See, I told you there was something special about you. Being able to hear the Star Whale, that's something special." I couldn't help but smile at him. He had kept telling me that I was different, that I was special and after hearing the Star Whale I was starting to believe it.

"Yes, well let's not get ahead of ourselves here." I said as I flopped myself back on the bed. The Doctor followed and done the same.

"Do you want me to stay while you sleep?" He asked softly.

I thought about it for a moment, before turning to face him. "No, it's okay. Like I said before, she is going to help me and hopefully give me dreamless sleeps. I'm sure she will let you know if anything is wrong." He nodded at me. "And besides, it's not just Amy and I who need to clean up. You reek pretty badly as well you know."

The Doctor laughed at me and sat himself up. "Yes, your right." I shook my head and pushed myself back up.

"Well, night then Doctor." I said as I got up from the bed.

He stood up and hugged me tightly. "I hope you sleep better now, Summer."

"Yeah, so do I." I whispered to him before we finally broke apart. I watched him walk towards the door. "And don't go around fixing things that aren't broken. And don't go around breaking things just so you can fix them."

He laughed at me and smiled. "I'll try. I think I'm going to go and look for the library. She can't hide it away from me forever."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, good luck with that. If she doesn't want you to find it, then you won't find it."

We said goodnight again before the Doctor left and closed the door. '_Will he find the library?_'

'_Of course not. Not unless you tell him where it is. But I very much doubt that you will be doing that._'

I frowned. '_I don't even know where it is, so how could I tell him?_' I replied to the TARDIS.

'_Because I have hidden it in your bathroom._'

I opened the door to the bathroom and saw another door at the end. I couldn't help but laugh. '_Well, that's the last place he will think of looking for it._'

'_Exactly. And I didn't want to stop you from using it. Now you don't have to worry about being caught sneaking out when you don't want to sleep._' I smiled to myself. I was getting on pretty well with the TARDIS.

'_Thanks._' I said before turning on the taps to have a nice relaxing bath. I poured in some of the bubble bath that was on the shelf, it smelt like peach and honey.

* * *

A/N: And there it is. The first episode. I'm still going to be writing some little chapters that will slip in between some episodes. I really hope you wonderful people liked it. How about you tell me about it by leaving a review? I decided to bite the bullet and post it slightly soon then I had planned, but that just makes it better for you guys.

Anyways, please review. I love you all!

Pippa.


	7. Victory of the Daleks

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Someday, Doctor Who shall be mine.

Short thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed and those lovely people who review. You bring a smile to my face, especially when I'm sitting in a boring lecture and get that magical email.

* * *

The sound of someone knocking on my door eventually woke me up. "No one's home. Come back tomorrow." I called as I pulled the covers over my head to try and block out the sound.

"Will you get up already!" The Doctor called through the door. "I thought you wanted to meet Winston Churchill?"

I jumped out of my bed and threw the door open. "Okay, I'm up. Eamus." The Doctor put his arm across the doorframe to stop me from going anywhere.

"Nope, get dressed first. Then meet us in the kitchen for breakfast." I pouted at him, I just wanted to go meet Churchill. The Doctor just laughed at me. "Don't think making cute faces is going to make me change my mind. Get dressed, go on." He turned me around and pushed me back into the room. "You've got 10 minutes before I send Amy in to drag you out.

I let out a sigh. "Fine. See you in the kitchen. And there better be a fresh pot of tea ready and waiting for me or I'm going to give you hell." He laughed at me again before closing the door and leaving me in the room alone.

'_I take it you slept well?_'

I smiled, the TARDIS was talking to me again. '_Yes, I did, thanks. I hope the Doctor didn't cause too much trouble while Amy and I were sleeping?_' I had a feeling that he had probably been messing around with something that he shouldn't.

'_Actually, he was very well behaved for once. He did sneak into your room a few times to check on you, but don't worry. After a while I locked the door so he would leave you alone._'

The smile was still on my face. '_Thank you. For everything._'

'_You're welcome Summer. Now get dressed, there are some extra clothes in the wardrobe now. I hope you like them._'

I pulled the doors to the wardrobe open and my mouth fell open. The few things that I had put in there when I first arrived were now joined by so much more. The wardrobe was packed with different things.

I pulled out a pair of black jeans, and lilac vest top with lace at the top and a dark purple V-neck jumper. I quickly got changed and made the bed before realising I still had no shoes on. I opened the wardrobe again and saw several pairs of Converse trainers neatly sitting at the bottom. I picked up the purple pair and squealed in excitement. I had never had such a choice of clothing and shoes before, it was brilliant.

'_Thank you so much. It's wonderful._' I said to the TARDIS as I made my way to the kitchen.

When I got there, Amy and the Doctor were sitting around the table. The Doctor quickly made my tea for me and I set about making myself some toast.

"So how did you sleep?" The Doctor asked as I finally sat down and started munching away at my breakfast.

"Best sleep I have ever had. No dreams, no nightmares, nothing." I said as I brushed the crumbs off my jumper.

"That's probably why you slept for almost 12 hours then."

I looked at the Doctor in shock. "Was I really asleep for that long?"

He nodded at me. "Yep, Amy was up and about after about 7, but you were completely out of it."

I frowned at him. "Well why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"Well, you were sleeping so peacefully, you deserved it. I really didn't want to disturb you." He said as he took my empty plate from in front of me and placed in on the side. "Beside, you looked so adorable."

Amy's eyes widened and I just put my head in my hands in embarrassment. "Amy, word of advice, lock your door from now on." I mumbled through my hands.

"Thanks, I think I will. Doctor, you didn't sneak into my room as well did you?" She asked him, still shocked by what he had said.

He was still facing away from us, but I was sure he had been blushing. "No, Amy. I did not sneak into your room. And I only went into Summer's to check on her and make sure everything was all right."

"Doctor, the TARDIS will let you know if something is wrong. No more sneaking into my room. Is that understood?" I said as he finally sat back down at the table.

"Understood. Now hurry up, we have a Prime Minister to go and visit." I have him a salute and got back to drinking my tea.

It wasn't long until we were on our way to meet Winston Churchill. I was so excited that I kept bouncing around the console room, even while we were in flight, until the Doctor told me off and said he would lock me in my room if I didn't calm down.

I pouted at him and sat down sulking until we had landed. The Doctor was first out of the door and I was quickly behind him.

"Summer, Amy. Winston Churchill." The Doctor said as the men with the guns aimed at us parted and the Prime Minister stepped through towards us, smoking a cigar.

"Doctor, is it you?" The man before us asked.

"Oh, Winston, my old friend." The Doctor said as he put his hand out to shake Winston's. The man, however, had other ideas and instead of shaking the Doctor hand just held it out, palm facing upwards, waiting for something. "Ah, every time."

"What's he after?" I asked him, not sure what was going on.

"TARDIS key of course." The Doctor replied. I nodded, that made sense.

"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor. The lives that could be saved."

"Ah, doesn't work like that."

Churchill frowned at the Doctor. "Must I take it by force?" He said seriously.

"I'd like to see you try." There seemed to be some kind of stand off going on between the two men until Churchill finally told him men to stand down. The Doctor smiled. "You rang?"

We followed Churchill down the corridor, I was finding it slightly difficult to accept the fact that I was in the middle of the Blitz. I was in history, not reading about it but actually there, experiencing it.

"So, you've changed your face again." Churchill said as he and the Doctor walked ahead together.

"Yeah, well, had a bit of work done." The Doctor replied as they carried on.

"Got it, got it, got it!" Amy said excitedly. "Cabinet War Rooms, right?"

"Yep. Top secret heart of the War Office, right under London." I said, smiling away.

"You're late by the way."

The Doctor looked at Churchill after looking at his watch. "Late?"

"I rang you a month ago."

"Really? Sorry, sorry. It's a Type 40 TARDIS. I'm just running her in." I couldn't help but laugh at the Doctor.

"Running her in? The reason we are late is because you still don't know how to fly her properly." The Doctor stopped and turned to me, a frown upon his face.

"Will you stop complaining about my flying skills?"

I smiled at him. "Only when you learn to fly her properly."

The Doctor was about to answer when an officer approached. "Excuse me, sir. Got another formation coming in, Prime Minister. Stukas, by the looks of them."

"We shall go up top then, Group Captain. We'll give them what for. Coming, Doctor?"

He turned around to face Churchill again. "Why?"

"I have something to show you."

He led us all into a life and we made our way up to the roof. Amy and I both stood there in awe at what we were seeing. The sight of London, barrage balloons tethered up all over the city. It really was a remarkable sight.

"Ready Bracewell?" Churchill called to the man standing high up in a white lab coat.

I stood there watching as the German planes came closer. "Aye aye, sir. On my order… fire!" Bracewell called out. My eyes widened in horror as a laser shot out from behind the sand bags and destroyed all the planes with ease.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

I stepped back, knowing full well what it was. It was something I had hoped to never see or hear again. Something that terrified me, scared me to death.

The Doctor was also in shock and his face was horrified as well. "That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like… Show me! Show me! Show me what that was!" The Doctor demanded as he charged up to where Bracewell was.

"Advance." Bracewell called.

"Our new secret weapon. Ha!" Churchill called out proudly.

I watched as one of the most fear creatures I had ever seen rolled out from behind the sandbags and towards the Doctor. "No, no, no, no." I whispered, stepping further and further back. My chest started to pound and my hands started shaking.

"What do you think? Quite something, eh?" Churchill called up to the Doctor.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked the machine like creature that was now in front of him.

"I AM YOUR SOLDIER." Came a rasping reply from the creature.

"What?" I could tell that the Doctor was shocked by the response that he had received.

"I AM YOUR SOLDIER." It said again. The voice was terrifying me.

"Stop this. Stop now. Now, you know who I am. You always know." The Doctor said calmly.

"YOUR IDENTITY IS UNKNOWN."

"Perhaps I can clarify things here. This is one of my Ironsides." Bracewell said to the Doctor, looking very proud of himself.

"Your what?" Neither the Doctor nor I could believe what we were hearing.

Bracewell turned to face his Ironside. "You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can."

"YES."

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed."

"YES."

"And what is your ultimate aim?" Bracewell asked, still looking so pleased with himself. There was a pain starting to build in my head.

"TO WIN THE WAR."

"No, not now. Not again." I cried as I clutched my head. The pain started to get worse, and I fell to the floor.

"Summer? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Amy asked. I didn't have the strength to answer her. "Doctor!" I heard her shout. "Doctor, something wrong with Summer."

A moment later I felt the Doctor put his arms around me. "Summer, it's okay, I'm here. I won't let them hurt you I promise."

"My head." I whispered to him.

"Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is the pain?"

I didn't hesitate. "11." I told him as I felt the first tear slip down my cheek.

"Oh, that's not good. We need to get you inside now. Come on, you can do it. It will be safer in there, please Summer, we have to move." I nodded slightly, which just made my head hurt more.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Amy asked quietly.

"She has a very bad headache, and we need to get her inside, now." I felt the Doctor pull me up and hold onto me.

He helped me as we got back into the lift and kept talking to me the whole time, holding me close and whispering in my ear about some of the people he had met in the past. The more he spoke the more the pain eased and by the time we reached the office of Winston Churchill the pain had almost completely gone.

The Doctor was still holding onto me, his arm wrapped around my waist. "Better?" He asked softly. I nodded back to him and tried my best to smile but I still felt like I had no energy. "I think we need to look into these headaches of yours a bit more once we are through here don't you?" I nodded at him again, knowing full well that if anyone going to be able to help me deal with them, it was the Doctor.

I watched as the Doctor looked at the blueprints spread out all over the table. "They're Daleks. They're called Daleks." I told Churchill, but he didn't seem to want to listen.

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides. Look, blueprints, statistics, field tests, photographs. He invented them." Churchill insisted. I just shook my head, I knew the Doctor was right.

"Invented them? Oh, no, no. No." The Doctor said firmly.

But Churchill still wasn't listening. "Yes. He approached one of out brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius."

"A Scottish genius, too. Maybe you should listen to…"

The Doctor cut Amy off. "Shush. He didn't invent them. They're alien."

"Alien?" Churchill questioned as one of them glided past the door and looked in. I instantly tensed up. I was stuck in the London Blitz with Winston Churchill and Daleks. The Doctor took my hand and smiled at me, trying to get to me relax, which was pretty hard considering the situation.

"And totally hostile." The Doctor added as he followed Churchill out into the corridor. "Why won't you listen to me? Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?"

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes. Right. So destroy them. Exterminate them." The Doctor was getting more and more frustrated now and I couldn't blame him. Winston Churchill was not listening to reason, he didn't seem to care what the Doctor was saying.

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred. A thousand."

"I am imagining." The Doctor said as he squeezed my hand gently. "Amy, tell him."

Amy looked over and the Doctor and I, a blank expression on her face. "What would I know about the Daleks?"

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky. You don't just forget that. Amy, tell me you remember the Daleks?" There was panic in the Doctor's voice.

"No, sorry." Amy answered, backing away from him a little.

"But, that's not possible." I whispered to the Doctor. "I remember, why doesn't Amy?" The Doctor gave me a look that told me he had no idea, but was planning on finding out.

"So, they're up to something. But what is it? What are they after?" The Doctor said out loud as we hung around in the map room.

"Well, let's just ask, shall we?" Amy said before approaching one of the Daleks.

"Amy!" I called, trying to get her to come back. At the same time the Doctor had called her Amelia.

I stood there in horror as Amy tapped the Daleks casing and it's eyestalk swung around to look at her. "CAN I BE OF ASSISTANCE?" Asked the rasping voice.

"Oh, yes. Yes, see, my friends reckon you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?" I had to give Amy some credit, she had guts. Striding over to a Dalek and talking to it, my instincts were telling me to get as far away from it as possible, especially since we didn't know what it was doing in the middle of the war.

"I AM YOUR SOLDIER."

"Yeah, got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else, though?"

"PLEASE EXCUSE ME. I HAVE DUTIES TO PERFORM." The Dalek replied before gliding out of the room.

"Winston. Winston, please." The Doctor was pleading with him again to get rid of them but he still wasn't having much luck.

"We are waging total war, Doctor. Day after day the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron first."

I looked Churchill in the eyes. "Wait till the Daleks get started."

"Men, women and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flame."

"Yeah, try the Earth in flames." I retorted back. Amy may not remember the Daleks, but I sure as hell do. I know what they are capable of, I've seen it.

"I weep for my country. I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart."

I let out a sigh, the man was impossible. "You're resisting, Winston. The whole world knows you're resisting. You're a beacon of hope."

Then it was Churchill's turn to let out a sigh, maybe I was finally getting through to him. "But for how long? Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I used these Ironsides now."

"CAN I BE OF ASSISTANCE?" A voice came from behind us. The Doctor quickly pulled me over to his other side and away from the Dalek.

"Shut it." The Doctor said, pointing at the Dalek before turning back to Churchill. "Listen to me. Just listen. The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them." The Doctor insisted.

"If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favourable reference to the Devil. These machines are our salvation." I looked around the room when I siren went off. "Oh, the All Clear. We are safe, for now." Churchill said to the Doctor before walking off.

"This is wrong, Doctor. This is so, very wrong." I whispered to him and he wrapped an arm around me. "For a start, they shouldn't be here, and second, why doesn't Amy remember them?"

"Doctor, it's the All Clear. You okay?" Amy asked as she came over to us, happy and smiling away.

"What does hate look like, Amy?" The Doctor asked her as she rested against the table with us.

"Hate?"

"It looks like a Dalek. And I'm going to prove it." The Doctor said before gabbing Amy's hand and mine and leading us to the laboratory where Professor Bracewell was working.

"All right Prof. Now, the PM's been filling me in. amazing things, these Ironsides of yours. Amazing. You must be very proud." The Doctor said as he dragged me into the room with him.

"Just doing my bit."

"Not bad for a Paisley boy." Amy said as she finally caught up and came in.

"Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear." Bracewell said as he turned and smiled at Amy.

"How did you do it?" The Doctor asked Bracewell. "Come up with the idea?"

"How does the muse of invention come to anyone?" Bracewell asked as he shifted some of his work around on one of the tables before he walked towards where the Doctor and I were hanging around.

"But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?" The Doctor asked. Neither of us knew what was going on with the Daleks, and I could tell that the Doctor didn't like it when he didn't know things.

"Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head. Wonderful things, like… let me show you." Bracewell picked up some of his files to show the Doctor. "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that can sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere. Came to me in the bath."

"And are these your ideas?" I asked quietly, before looking over at the Dalek that was in the room.

"Or theirs?" The Doctor added, following my gaze.

"Oh no, no, no. These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor. They are…" The Dalek approached Bracewell and brandishing a tray with a cup of tea on it. "Thank you." He took the tea and then turned back to us. "The perfect servant, and the perfect warrior."

I saw the serious look on the Doctor's face, I knew he was getting more and more irritated. He took hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly as the Dalek continued to stay beside us. "I don't know what you're up to, Professor, but whatever they've promised, you can't trust them. Call them what you like, the Daleks are death."

"Yes, Doctor. Death to our enemies." Churchill called as he entered the room. "Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich." Another Dalek followed him into the room, making me feel even more nervous. If there was anything worse than being in a room with a Dalek, it was being in a room with two Daleks.

"Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else too." The Doctor said as he pulled me behind him. I took hold of Amy's arm and pulled her back with me. She just didn't understand the danger we were all in.

"WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA?" The Dalek standing closest to the Doctor asked.

I jumped when the Doctor knocked the tray away from the Dalek. "Stop this! What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"WE SEEK ONLY TO HELP YOU."

"To do what?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"TO WIN THE WAR."

"Really? Which war?"

The Dalek seemed to pause for a moment, thinking about the question and its answer. "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND." The rasping voice finally said.

"This war, against the Nazis, or your war? The war against the rest of the universe? The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?" The Doctor said as he stepped forward towards the Dalek. He made sure to push me back further first.

"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, I AM YOUR SOLDIER."

"Oh, yeah? Okay, okay, soldier, defend yourself." The Doctor said before picking up a huge spanner and started hitting the Dalek with it. I could see the rage in his eyes even as Churchill and Bracewell both tried to convince the Doctor to stop. "Come on. Fight back. You want to, don't you? You know you do?" He carried on hitting it, getting more and more violent.

"What are you waiting for?" The Doctor asked as he finally stopped striking the Dalek. "Look, you hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on. Kill me. Kill me!" The Doctor ordered, hitting his chest, waiting.

"Doctor, please, be careful." I said, knowing that he was pushing the Daleks at much as he could. I didn't want to see them turn on him like he wanted.

"You are my enemy!" The Doctor said, striking it several more times. "And I am yours." He said, finally seeming to calm down. "You are everything I despise. The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again. I've defeated you. I sent you back into the Void. I saved the whole of reality from you. I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks." I watched him as he kicked the Dalek backwards.

"CORRECT. REVIEW TESTIMONY." The Dalek said turned its eyestalk back to face the Doctor.

"_I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks._'

"Testimony? What are you talking about, testimony?" I could tell that the Doctor was more worried than anything else now.

"TRANSMITTING TESTIMONY NOW." The other Dalek said.

"Transmit what? Where?" I asked, taking a step closer to the Doctor.

"TESTIMONY ACCEPTED."

I watched in horror as some soldiers were shot by the Dalek lasers. Their bodies illuminated and I saw their skeletons. It just brought back the memories of when I had seen them before. It was awful. Then when Bracewell tried to stop them, they shot his hand to reveal a robotic circuitry. The Daleks had made him, not the other way around, he was built by the Daleks.

"What just happened, Doctor?" Amy asked as the Daleks teleported away.

"He wanted to know what they wanted. What their plan was." I said as I griped the Doctor's hand.

"I was their plan." He said before running out of the room, dragging me with him. "Testimony accepted. That's what they said, my testimony." The Doctor said as we stopped outside the TARDIS.

"Don't beat yourself up because you were right. So, what do we do? Is this what we do now? Chase after them?" Amy asked as she bounced into the room behind us.

"No, this is what he does." I said, knowing from experience what was going to happen next.

The Doctor nodded at me. "This is what I do, yeah, and it's dangerous, so you both wait here."

I nodded at him while Amy decided she was going to argue with him. "What, so you mean we've got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?"

"Safe as it gets around me." The Doctor said to her, hoping that she finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

"You be careful, Doctor. Come back safe or I'm going to give you hell." I told him as he hugged me tightly.

"Course I will. Don't worry about me. Look after each other." He said to us before stepping inside the TARDIS.

"What does he expect us to do now?" Amy asked as we watched the TARDIS disappear.

"K.B.O, of course." Churchill said, puffing away at his cigar.

"What?"

"Keep buggering on." I said as I linked my arm through Amy's as we walked back to Churchill's office.

"Prime Minister…" A woman's voice called, entering the office.

"Yes?"

"Signal from RDF, sir. Unidentified object. Hanging in the sky, Captain Childers says. We can't get a proper fix, thought. It's too far up." She told him.

Amy and I both looked at Churchill. "What do you think, ladies? The Doctor's in trouble and now we know where he is."

"Yeah, because he'll be on that ship, won't he. Right in the middle of everything. As always." I said, letting a smile spread across my face.

We followed Churchill into the map room, watching as everyone worked around us. I listened to the conversations and my eyes widened in horror as we discovered all the lights in London were on. No one was able to shut them off, nothing was working.

"It's the Daleks. It has to be." I said as I looked at Churchill.

"The Germans can see every inch of the city. We're sitting ducks. Get those lights out before the Germans get here." Churchill ordered. "Thousands will die if we don't get those lights out now."

"German bombers sighted over the Channel, sir. ETA 10 minutes, sir."

Churchill let out a sigh. "Here they come. Get a message to Mr Attlee, War Cabinet meeting at 03:00 hours. If we're all still here."

"We can't just sit here. We've got to take the fight to the Daleks." Amy insisted.

"How? None of our weapons are a match for theirs." I watched as Churchill became more and more frustrated. He was a man from history that I had admired, written papers on, and spent years researching.

"Oh, wait a minute. It's staring us in the face." Both Amy and Churchill looked at me with blank expressions. "A gift, from the Daleks. We can help the Doctor from here."

I ran off towards the laboratory, where I knew Bracewell would be. He was Dalek technology, they gave him ideas. He was our way of helping the Doctor. It didn't take us long to convince him to help us and we eventually worked out a way to get to that Dalek spaceship, and the Doctor. After forming a plan we ended up back in the map room.

I helped Bracewell to rig up a crude device that would allow us to see what was going on with the Doctor and the Daleks. We finally got it working and saw an image of the Doctor on the screen.

"Good, he's still alive." I sighed in relief. We carried on watching as we saw different Daleks approach the Doctor. "And now he's got some new company. We've got to hurry up, we're running out of time."

I looked over at Bracewell as he answered the phone that was ringing beside him. Everyone was ready, the plan was set. "Well, let's get to it!" I called, letting a smile spread across my face.

"Broadsword to Danny Boy, Broadsword to Danny Boy. Scramble, scramble, scramble." One of the men called over a radio.

We carried on watching, listening as the Doctor ordered the destruction of the dish on the side of the Dalek ship that was causing the lights to stay on over London.

"You heard him, Group Captain. Target that dish. Send in all we've got." Churchill ordered.

The man nodded. "Broadsword to Danny Boy, target that dish and stop that signal. Over."

"_Understood, sir. Over._"

I held my breath, hoping with everything I had that it would work. Then I heard the words I didn't want to hear, the beam was still active. And then there was only one pilot left alive, Danny Boy.

"_The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. I can disrupt the Dalek shield, but not for long. Over._"

"_I'm going in. Wish me luck. Over._"

We all held out breaths again. "Direct hit, sir!" One of the men called out. The lights over London began to go out again. Now I just wanted to get the Doctor back safely. Everyone around me was celebrating, but I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. I heard the Doctor tell Danny Boy to return to Earth, then I heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS in the distance of the underground base.

The Doctor came rushing in and punched Bracewell on the jaw, sending the man sprawling onto the floor.

"Doctor!" Amy cried in horror.

"Ow." The Doctor said, tried to shake the pain out of his hand. "Sorry, Professor, you're a bomb. An inconceivably massive Dalek bomb."

"What?" Bracewell asked him in terror. I looked between the Doctor and the man on the floor, it all made sense. He was Dalek technology, they weren't stupid, of course they had made him a bomb.

"There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you. A captured wormhole that provides perpetual power. Detonate that, and the Earth will bleed through into another dimension. Now keep down." The Doctor said frantically before kneeling down on the floor and ripping the man's shirt open. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at Bracewell's chest, revealing the panel of the bomb.

"Well? What do we do, Doctor?" I asked as I kneeled down beside him.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. Never seen one up close before." He said quickly. I understood from the way he was talking that it was serious and that he was lost.

"So what, they've wired him up to detonate?" Amy asked, looking at the first panel that had turned yellow.

"Oh no, not wired him up. He is a bomb. Walking, talking, pow, exploding, the moment that flashes red." The Doctor told her, pointing to the 5 panels.

"There's a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there? There's always a blue wire. Or a red one." Amy said, starting to panic herself.

"You're not helping." The Doctor said standing up and pacing around.

"It's incredible. He talked to us about his memories. The Great War." Churchill said, looking at Bracewell who was still on the floor.

"Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted into a positronic brain. Tell me about it, Bracewell. Tell me about your life." The Doctor said, crouching back down at the man's side with me.

"Doctor, I really don't think this is the time." Bracewell argued.

"Tell me, and prove you're human. Tell me everything." The Doctor demanded. I wondered what he was trying to do, what he hoped to achieve.

"My family ran the Post Office. It's a little place just near the abbey, just by the ash trees. There used to be 8 tress, but there was a storm."

"And your parents? Come on, tell me." The Doctor was still talking frantically.

"Good people. Kind people. They died. Scarlet fever."

"What was that like? How did it feel? How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me. Tell me now." I watched as the Doctor got more and more agitated. Whatever he was trying to do, it didn't seem to be working.

We all listened to Bracewell talking about the pain, the hurt. The countdown didn't stop, 2 of the segments were now red, a third yellow and soon to be turning. Moments later the third one turned red. I watched as the final panel turned yellow.

"It's not working. I can't stop it." The Doctor seemed to have given up hope. But what he had been doing had given me an idea.

"Hey, Paisley. Ever fancied someone you know you shouldn't? I asked him softly.

He looked at me in confusion. "What?"

"It hurts, doesn't it? But kind of a good hurt." I told him, keeping my eyes focused on his. This was our last shot, the final chance to stop the bomb.

"I really shouldn't talk about her." He said. It looked like he was blushing slightly.

"Oh, there's a her?" Amy asked as she kneeled down over at his other side.

I glanced down and saw that the yellow panel had now turned back to blue. The Doctor had noticed as well and was back on the floor beside me. "What was her name?"

"Dorabella."

"Dorabell?" The Doctor said with a little laughing. I elbowed him in the side. "It's a lovely name. It's a beautiful name."

"What was she like, Edwin?" I asked with a smile on my face.

"Oh, such a smile. And her eyes, her eyes were so blue. Almost violet, like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world. Dorabella." I could see he was remembering, thinking about the woman that had touched his life. Then when I looked down, the countdown had stopped.

"Welcome to the human race." The Doctor said to Bracewell before pointing at Churchill and telling him was brilliant. He then told Bracewell he was brilliant before turning to me and Amy. "And you, I…" He kissed us both on the forehead before jumping up off the floor. "Now, got to stop them. Stop the Daleks."

He went to charge out the room but was called back by Bracewell. "Wait, Doctor. Wait, wait, it's too late." The Doctor paused and looked at him. "Gone. They've gone."

"No. No! They can't. They can't have got away from me again." The Doctor cried.

I looked over at Bracewell, sitting on the floor still. "No, I can feel it. My mind is clear. The Daleks have gone."

I made my way over to the Doctor and stood by his side. We shared a look, both understanding the silent message behind it.

"Doctor, it's okay, you did it. You stopped the bomb." Amy said as she came over, trying to make him feel better. "Doctor?"

"I had a choice. And they knew I'd choose the Earth. The Daleks have won. They beat me. They've won." He said quietly, slipping his hand into mine. I gave his a reassuring squeeze.

"But you saved the Earth. Not too shabby, is it?" Amy was desperate to get his spirits up.

The Doctor looked over at me and smiled. "No, it's not too shabby."

"It's a brilliant achievement, my dear friend. Here, have a cigar." Churchill said, holding a cigar out which the Doctor promptly refused.

"Right, work to do. Won't be long." The Doctor called, taking me with him. Amy stayed behind, talking to Churchill.

"Alien tech clean up time?" I asked the Doctor as we walked along the corridor.

"Yup, come along. Lot's to do before we leave."

The hours passed as I helped the Doctor to remove everything. By the time we made it back to the map room, it was morning.

"Where's the Doctor and Summer?" Amy asked just as we walked into the room.

"Tying up loose ends. We've taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in." He said as we headed over to Churchill and Amy.

"Won't you reconsider, Doctor? Those Spitfires would win me the war in 24 hours." Churchill pleaded.

"Exactly." The Doctor said as he picked up a cup of tea and started drinking t.

"But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?" The Prime Minister was not one to give up easily.

"Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston, and it's going to be tough. There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it, you know you can." I told him with a smile on my face.

"Stay with us, Doctor, and help us win through. The world needs you."

"The world doesn't need him, not here, not right now." Churchill looked at me, a puzzled expression on his face. "The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill."

He smiled at me before turning his attention to the Doctor. "It's been a pleasure, Doctor, as always."

The Doctor and Churchill hugged. "Goodbye, Doctor."

The Doctor couldn't help but let out a happy laugh. "Oh, shall we say adieu?"

"Indeed." Churchill said, as they finally pulled apart. "Goodbye Miss Richards, Miss Pond."

"It had been a absolute pleasure to meet you. It's been amazing." I said to him, smiling away.

"I'm sure it has." He said before walking away.

I glanced over at the Doctor and then nodded at Amy. We had both seen it. "Oi, Churchill!" We both called out at the same time, making him stop and turn.

"TARDIS key." I said holding my hand out. He looked at us with wide eyes while the Doctor spat his tea back into the cup and patted down his pockets.

"The one you just took from the Doctor." Amy added as he slowly walked back over.

"Oh, they're good, Doctor. As sharp as a pin. Almost as sharp as me." Churchill said as he placed the key in my hand. "K.B.O." He said before walking off again.

I held the key up between my fingers and the Doctor quickly took it. "Come on then." He said, putting the key back in his pocket. "One more thing we have to do." The Doctor marched out of the room and Amy and I soon followed.

We followed him to the laboratory, where Bracewell was sitting, looking very sad. "I've been expecting you, Doctor. I knew this moment had to come."

"Moment?" The Doctor said, confused.

"It's time to de-activate me." Bracewell said, clarifying what the moment was.

"Is it? Oh, er, yeah."

"You have no choice. I'm Dalek technology. Can't allow me to go pottering around down here when I have no business."

I looked over at the Doctor and rolled my eyes. This was going to be interesting. "No, you're dead right, Professor. A hundred per cent right. And by the time I get back here in what… 10 minutes?" The Doctor said, looking between me and Amy.

"More like 15." I said, letting a smile spread across my face.

The Doctor smiled at me. "15 minutes, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You are going to be so de-activated. It's going to be like you've never even been activated."

"15 minutes?" Bracewell confirmed, still looking rather glum.

"More like 20, if I'm honest. Once the three of us see to the urgent thing we've got to see to. The… the… see?" The Doctor said, trying to hint at what he was really saying.

Bracewell nodded. "Very well, Doctor. I shall wait here and prepare myself."

I shook my head. "That Dalek tech's a bit slow on the uptake. That thing we've got to do, going to take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Easily. So no running off, that's what I'm saying. Don't go trying to find that little Post Office with the ash trees or that girl. What was her name?"

"Dorabella." Bracewell said, still not having any idea about what was going on.

"Dorabella. On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour." The Doctor said, still smiling away.

Finally Bracewell realised what we were trying to say to him. He thanked us before the Doctor dragged Amy and me back to the TARDIS.

"So, you have enemies then?" Amy asked as approached the TARDIS.

"Everyone's got enemies." The Doctor told her.

"Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got, like, you know, arch-enemies." She said as she leaned against the TARDIS.

"Suppose so." I could tell from his tone that he was thinking about something. Amy must have sensed it as well.

"You're worried about the Daleks."

"I'm always worried about the Daleks." He answered softly.

"It'll take time though, won't it? I mean there's still not many of them. They'll need a while to build themselves up." Amy was trying her best to reassure the Doctor, let him know that there was no immediate threat from the Daleks.

"It's not that. There's something else. Something we've forgotten." The Doctor looked at me before turning back to Amy. "Or rather you have."

Amy looked at him, not sure what he was talking about. "Me?"

"You didn't know them, Amy. You'd never seen them before. And you should have done." I said as the Doctor turned and opened the TARDIS doors. He went in and I followed behind him.

"So, now what?" Amy asked as she closed to door and came over to the console.

"I have some tests to run. Amy, why don't you head off and get some sleep. It's been a long day." He said as he bounced around the console.

"Um, yeah okay. Night then." She called as she headed towards the corridor.

"Night Amy." I called from the chair as she walked away.

Once she was gone the Doctor came over and rested against the railings beside me. I knew what he meant when he said he had some tests to run.

"Come on then, what are you going to do to me first, Doctor?" I asked him, trying to be happy and cheerful. In reality I was scared. Human doctor's had never been able to find anything wrong with me, but with the technology the Doctor had, if something was wrong he would probably find it. And that was what scared me, what if there really was something wrong with me?

"The TARDIS is already running the scans. We just have to wait for the results really. Tell me, on Earth, did the doctor's find anything?"

"No, nothing. I was in and out of hospitals for years, seeing different doctors and specialists. Not one of them was able to tell me why I had those headaches or how to stop them. In the end, they just gave up trying and I learned to live with them."

The Doctor bent down in front of me and took both my hands. "Well, I'm not like them. I promise we will find out what causes them and how to stop them."

I smiled at him. "Thanks. So how long will it take before you know anything?"

"I'm not sure. Not really much point you waiting around. I'm sure you could do with some sleep as well. Come on." He pulled me out of the chair and walked me to my room. "I'll let you know if I find anything but at least try to sleep." He said as he hugged me.

"Thanks, for everything." I said when he finally let me go.

"Goodnight, Summer."

"Night, Doctor." I opened the door and headed straight for me bed. I threw myself down and closed my eyes tightly. I had met Winston Churchill and encountered Daleks, again. It had been a rather tiring experience.

The lights dimmed down by themselves and I tried to relax. It wasn't working. I just kept replaying the day's events over and over in my head. I pushed myself off the bed and changed into my pyjamas before lying back down. I rolled onto my side and tried my best to get comfy. I didn't even bother to get under the covers, I just stayed there, willing myself to sleep.

I must have managed to doze off a little as I heard my door creak open and my eyes snapped open. I had to blink several times to get them to focus properly.

"Doctor?" I struggled to speak, I really had fallen asleep a little.

"Hey, you okay Summer?" He said softly as he walked over to my bed.

"I can't sleep." I mumbled as he sat down on the edge where I was facing.

He just smiled at me, took off his boots and jacket and laid down on the bed next to me with his arms open. I shifted over and rested my head against his chest and he closed his arms around me. My whole body relaxed as I heard the sound of his two hearts beating.

"Go to sleep now, Summer." He whispered to me as he brushed some hair that had fallen over my face away.

* * *

A/N: Hope you all liked it. I've had the thought of splitting the episodes and uploading them in 2 chapters because of how long they end up being when I'm writing. I always like to add my own part at the start and end. Let me know what my amazing readers think!

Next up, here comes River. Does she know Summer? Will she give away any spoilers? Oh, how exciting!

Please remember to review and let me know what you think of the chapter splitting. If it split it, I will probably update a little more often. But I shall leave it to you all to decide. So, one last thing, REVIEW!

Love to you all!

Pippa


	8. The Time of Angels

Disclaimer: I own Summer. That's about it.

**A/N: Thank you to all the people who have review so far and are following. You're all such wonderful people. Remember to keep the reviews coming!**

* * *

Why did people always insist on waking me up by hammering away at my door?

"Summer? Are you awake yet?" Amy called through the door.

I sighed and forced my eyes to stay shut. "Well I am now. Did the Doctor send you to get me up?" I called back, still refusing to move.

"No, um, I can't actually find him. Guessing you haven't seen him then. Sorry for waking you." I heard her footsteps become quieter as she walked away from my door.

I was trying to think of somewhere the Doctor could be if he wasn't in the console room making a mess. I was about to ask the TARDIS when I felt the bed move. My eyes flew open and I saw the Doctor lying next to me.

"Doctor, what the hell are you doing on my bed?" I asked in surprise. He was fully dressed, apart from his boots and his jacket, which I could see over by the writing desk.

"Sorry, must have dozed off for a bit there." I watched as his face flushed red as he spoke.

"Doctor, why are you in my room, again?" I asked as I watched him pull his boots on.

"Ah, I came to check on you and you said you couldn't get to sleep. So I sat here with you for a while until you fell asleep. Unfortunately I seemed to fall asleep as well." He told me as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.

"Right, well I suggest you get out of here before Amy comes back this way. And also, weren't you meant to be waiting for some test results and stuff?" I asked him as I sat in the middle of my bed.

"Yes, you're right. I… I best… um…" I wanted so badly to laugh at the way he was stammering. He must have been feeling so awkward.

"Well off you go then." I said as I pointed towards the door.

Once he had closed the door I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer and I collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles.

'_I see you are not angry with him for being in your room._'

I done my best to calm myself down and stop the laughing. '_Why would I be angry with him? He fell asleep on my bed. Nothing wrong with that._'

'_You seemed to enjoy seeing him blush._'

I giggled a little more. '_Yeah, I did. That was funny. What exactly was he blushing for?_'

'_Now that, I wouldn't be able to tell you. He wouldn't let me see._'

I shook my head and set about getting ready. I headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. For some reason I couldn't help but smile. Once I was done I quickly got myself dressed, going for navy jeans, red vest top and a maroon V-neck jumped. I looked at the shoes and trainers in front of me, not knowing what to go for. I opted for a pair for black ankle boots. I pulled my hair back and clipped it up, letting the shorter strands fall down the sides.

I looked at myself in the mirror and nodded before heading towards the kitchen. I bumped into Amy on the way. "Morning, Amy. You found the missing Doctor yet then?" I asked as I put my arm through hers.

"Nope. I don't know where to look. I don't know where his room is. Does he even have a room?" I contained my laughter and shrugged my shoulders. I'm sure that he did have a room, but I was confident that he hardly ever used it.

"I'm sure he will turn up. Come on, I need my morning tea." The TARDIS had already told me that he was in the kitchen, and she also told me he seemed rather distracted.

Amy looked at me, a strange expression on her face. "You seem rather cheerful this morning. Any particular reason for that?"

"Do I need a reason to be happy? I just… slept well again. That's all. It's nice to be able to go to sleep and know I'm not going to wake up screaming." I told her as we stopped outside the door to the kitchen.

Amy just smiled at me as I opened the door. I held my breath, trying my best not to start laughing again. The memory of the expression on the Doctor's face earlier had been priceless and I was struggling to get it out of my head.

"Morning Doctor!" I called, unable to contain myself any longer. He jumped and dropped a mug and it smashed as soon as it hit the floor. "You're a bit jumpy this morning, everything all right? Amy says you've been missing."

He turned to face me. "A bit jumpy? You sneaked in here and shouted at the top of your lungs. Of course it's going to make me jump." I could tell from his face that he wasn't angry, just a little surprised.

I looked at him, pretending to be hurt. Before turning to Amy. "Did I sneak in here? I thought I only opened the door. How did I sneak in here?"

"I'm staying out of this one." Amy said as she walked over to the counter and turned the kettle on.

"So, everything all right while we were sleeping then?" I asked him quietly.

He seemed to understand what I was talking about. "Still waiting for some things to come through. Had hoped it would have all been finished by now but we will just have to wait a little bit longer."

I nodded at him. "Okay, so what are we going to do while we wait?" I asked him as I took the mug of tea Amy was holding out for me.

"Well, I was thinking a nice, safe trip. Somewhere in the future." He said as he pulled a chair out at the table for me to sit down. That was the first thing that struck me as odd, why was he acting like such a gentleman? He seemed to suddenly realise what he was doing as well and turned away as his neck and cheeks turned red.

"Safe and boring?" Amy said as she sat down next to me. Luckily she had not seen what had just happened. She was good as missing the obvious sometimes.

"It's not boring. Now hurry up. There are places to go and people to meet." He said as he dashed out of the room.

Amy and I watched as the door closed. "He seems a bit…"

"Distracted. Yeah, I've noticed." I couldn't help but feel that it was my fault that he was distracted.

"Do you think something happened? Something he isn't telling us?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I took a sip of my tea. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure that whatever it is will sort itself out." I tried my hardest to smile at the red head.

"So where do you think he is taking us then?" I could see the excitement in her eyes.

"No idea. Only one way to find out." Amy nodded at me and we both tried to drink our tea as quick as we could before charging off to the console room.

Now, I love my history, I really do, but being taken to an alien museum wasn't at the top of my to do list. It's only interesting for people who have some understanding of what things are and what it all means. Take me to any museum back on Earth in my own time and I'd be happy, but an alien museum, over 12,000 years in the future? Not really my thing, but the Doctor was happy at least.

"Wrong. Wrong. Bit right, mostly wrong. I love museums." The Doctor said as he went from one glass cabinet to the next.

"Yeah, great. Can we go to a planet now? Big spaceship, Churchill's bunker, you promised us a planet next." Amy moaned as we slowly followed him, our arms linked.

"This isn't any old asteroid. It's the Delerium Archive, the final resting place of the Headless Monks. The biggest museum ever."

"Need I remind you, you've got a time machine, what do you need museums for?" I asked as I watched him point at more objects.

"Wrong. Very wrong. Ooh, one of mine. Also one of mine."

Then it finally dawned on me. "Oh, I see. It's how you keep score." Amy laughed a little but she stopped when I pulled her over to what the Doctor was looking at with great interest.

"Oh great, an old box." Amy mumbled. She was really not enjoying the trip to the museum.

"It's from one of the old starliners. A Home Box." The Doctor told us.

Amy looked at me and I just shrugged. "What's a Home Box?"

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the flight data." He explained.

"So?" Amy looked utterly bored now, but something was telling me there was something more about that box.

"Hang on, that's writing on the box. Isn't it?" I asked as I looked at the strange symbols that had been burnt into the surface of the box.

The Doctor looked up and smiled at me. "The writing, the graffiti. Old High Gallifreyan. The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple gods."

Amy finally seemed interested. "What does it say?"

The Doctor let out a sigh. "Hello sweetie and honey…"

The next thing either Amy or I knew, the Doctor had the glass casing open and the Home Box under his arm. Amy and I looked at each other and ran after the Doctor as soon as the alarms started going off.

Once we were safe inside the TARDIS Amy asked the question we both wanted to know the answer for. "Why are we doing this?"

"Because someone on a spaceship 12,000 years ago is trying to attract my attention. Let's see if we can get the security playback working." The Doctor said as he hooked the box up to the console.

We all watched at the monitor came on and we saw a woman walking out of the room where the box was.

"_The party's over. Doctor Song. Yet still you're on board._"

We watched as the woman stood by an air lock, she turned to face the person who was speaking to her. "_Sorry, Alistair. I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination._"

"_Wait till she runs. Don't make it look like an execution._"

The woman looked down at her watched. "_Triple seven five slash three four nine by ten, zero twelve slash acorn. Oh, and I could do with an air corridor._"

I watched as the Doctor started darting around the console.

"What was that? What did she say?" Amy asked.

"Coordinates." The Doctor announced as the time rotor started up. He rushed to the doors and threw them open.

Amy and I both looked on in confusion as the woman who we had seen on the screen knocked the Doctor over and landed on top of him. I had to stifle a laugh.

"Doctor?" Amy said as she looked at the pair.

The Doctor ignored her. "River?"

River quickly got up and watched the ship get further away from them. "Follow that ship." She ordered. River rushed over to the console, the Doctor close behind her. "They've gone into warp drive. We're losing them. Stay close."

"I'm trying." The Doctor called in frustration. I had to keep stopping myself from laughing.

"Use the stabilisers." River called over to him.

"There aren't any stabilisers."

River rolled her eyes at him and gave me a smile. "The blue switches."

"Oh, the blue ones don't do anything, they're just blue." The Doctor said, getting more and more annoyed.

"Yes, they're blue. Star, would you mind?" Amy and I both looked at each other blankly. Neither of us saw the shocked look on the woman's face. "Summer?"

I looked over at her. "Hi?"

"Can you get the stabilisers for me?" I nodded at her and hit the blue stabilisers and everything started to calm down. "See?"

"Yeah. Well, it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers. They're blue boring-ers." The Doctor complained. I shook my head at him, he was acting like a little child.

"Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?" Amy asked him quietly.

"You call that flying that TARDIS? Ha!" He moaned as he went and sat down to sulk.

"Um, actually, that is called flying the TARDIS." I added, earning myself another smile from River.

"Okay, I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and parked us right along side." River said as she hit the final button.

"Parked us? We haven't landed." The Doctor insisted as he got back up from the chair.

"Actually, Doctor, we have landed. She just landed us." I said as I stood next to the woman and looked at the scanner.

"But it didn't make the noise." He complained. Before imitating the wheezing sound that the TARDIS makes when he is flying her.

I let out a laugh. "Yeah, it's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the breaks on." I said, earning a frown from the Doctor.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Summer Richards. And it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise. Come along, Pond. And Richards I suppose. Let's have a look." The Doctor said, charging over to the doors.

"No, wait. Environment checks." River called, looking at the scanner still.

"Oh yes, sorry. Quite right. Environment checks." The Doctor said before pulling the door open. "Nice out."

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest that…"

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft band, 11 hour day and chances of rain later." The Doctor said after popping his head out and back in again.

"He thinks he's so hot when he does that." River said, giving me a little nudge.

"How come you can fly the TARDIS?" Amy asked as she walked over to us.

"Oh, I had lessons from the very best." River told us as the Doctor went and sat down.

"Well, yeah." He said smugly.

"It's a shame you were busy that day." River was still concentrating on the scanner. I looked over at the Doctor and had to fight the urge to laugh. Ever since waking up and finding him on my bed I found everything around him funny. Or amusing. "Right then, why did they land here?"

"They didn't land." The Doctor told her smugly.

"Sorry?"

"You should have checked the Home Box. It crashed." The Doctor said, following her to the doors. Amy and I were right behind him.

River left the TARDIS and the Doctor was quick to shut the door. "Explain. Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?" Amy asked as he silently walked back to the console.

"It's a long story and I don't know most if it myself. Off we go."

"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked him as he started typing in coordinates.

"Leaving. She's got where she wanted to go, let's go where we want to go."

"Are you basically running away?" Amy asked him.

"Yep."

I looked at him, wondering what was so bad about the woman that he would run away from her. "Why?"

"Because she's the future. My future."

"Can you run away from that?" Amy asked, both of us knowing full well that he couldn't.

"I can run away from anything I like. Time is not the boss of me."

"Hang on, is that a planet out there?" Amy asked with wide eyes. Once the Doctor confirmed that it was, my eyes grew wider as well. "You promised us a planet. 5 minutes?"

"Okay, 5 minutes." Amy and I high fived before charging to the doors. "But that's all, because I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything."

Once we were outside we saw the crashed ship, smoking rising high into the sky. The Doctor filled River in on why the ship crashed.

"Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries." River said as she pulled a device out from her bag.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Amy asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Summer Richards, Amy Pond, Professor River Song."

River gasped and turned to face us all. "I'm going to be a Professor some day, am I? How exciting. Spoilers."

"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that? She just left you a note in a museum." Amy asked curiously. That was something I liked about Amy, she asked so many questions, and most of them were what I would have asked as well.

"2 things always guaranteed to show up in a museum. The Home Box of a category 4 starliner, and sooner or later, him. It's how he keeps score." River told us, grinning away.

"We noticed." I said as I went and stood next to her.

"It's hilarious, isn't it?"

The Doctor came walking over, trying to act all serious. "I'm nobody's taxi service. I'm not going to be there to catch you ever time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship."

"And you are so wrong. There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die." River said as the Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Now he's listening." She put the device to her ear like a telephone and started walking away. "You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal." She stopped and turned to face the Doctor. "Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

He pulled it out and did as she asked, but it was clear that he really didn't want to. "Ooh, Doctor. You sonicked her." Amy said mockingly, making me laugh again.

"We have a minute, shall we?" River asked as she pulled out a blue book, which had a design on it that looked very much like the TARDIS. "Where are we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"What's the book?" Amy asked as we got closer to her.

"Stay away from it." Amy asked him again what it was. "Her diary."

"Our diary." River corrected him. She looked between both me and the Doctor, a sad smile on her face.

"Her past, my future. Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order." I could tell that the Doctor was far from happy.

Our attention was drawn away from a book and 4 men appeared a very short distance away. "You promised me an army, Doctor Song." One of the men said to River.

"No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor and…" She let out a sigh. "This is the Doctor." She said again, a little firmer.

The man introduced himself as Father Octavian before River started explaining what was going on. "Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

Hours passed as camp was set up inside the temple. I could tell from the way the Doctor was acting that things were not good. Father Octavian told us that the building was a network of catacombs that would lead up to the ship.

"Oh, good." The Doctor said sarcastically.

"Good, sir?"

"Catacombs. Probably dark ones. Dark catacombs. Great." There was the sarcasm again, and I knew how bad things had to be if he was being sarcastic. He wasn't fond of sarcasm, especially not mine.

"Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead."

"You can stop any time you like." The Doctor told him.

Someone called for Octavian. "Excuse me, sir." He said before walking off.

"You're letting people call you sir. You never do that. So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?" Amy said, sitting on the edge of the table.

"Now that's interesting. You're both still here. Which part of wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe was so confusing?" He had his serious face on.

"Ooh, are you all mister grumpy face today?" Amy asked him mockingly. I didn't laugh, I knew how serious things were now and so I knew that we both needed to listen to the Doctor.

"A Weeping Angel, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced. And right now, one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm suppose to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch. And assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

"Is River Song your wife?" The Doctor and Amy both looked at me, Amy was grinning while the Doctor was frowning at me. "Because she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that."

Amy nodded in agreement. "She's kind of like, you know, heel, boy. She's Mrs Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she going to be your wife one day?" She added.

"Yes, you're right." Amy and I quickly looked at each other. "I am definitely mister grumpy face today." Both of us let out a sigh.

"Doctor? Doctor!" River called from one of the drop ships. The three of us headed over to where she was waiting.

There was an image on the screen of a statue, hands covering its face. "What do you think? It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's 4 seconds. I've put it on a loop."

"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face." The Doctor confirmed.

"You've encountered the Angels before?" Father Octavian asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving." The Doctor continued to explain what they were and how they can only move if they weren't being observed. I had to admit, I was starting to feel a little better about facing Daleks if these Angels were as bad as they sounded.

We went back outside and the Doctor told Octavian how the radiation from the ship was dinner to an Angel.

"Sir, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population…"

"Oh, there is. Bad as it get's, Bishop. Lock and load." The Doctor said. The Aplans were now extinct but the planet had been terraformed and was now home to 6 billion human colonists.

"Verger, how are we doing with those explosives?" Octavian called to one of his men. "Doctor Song, with me."

"2 minutes. Sweetie, honey, I need you." River said before walking off.

"Sweetie? Honey?" The Doctor said, looking a little confused.

River looked back at us. "Doctor, Summer." She called. The Doctor took my hand and dragged me over with him.

"I found this." River pulled out a book and passed it to the Doctor. "Definitive work on the Angels. Well, the only one. Written by a madman. It's barely readable, but I've marked a few passages."

River pulled me off to one side a little while the Doctor quickly looked through the book. "Is everything all right? You're a lot quieter than you usually are. Have the pair of you had another fight?"

I looked at her in confusion. What the hell was she talking about? "Um, no. We haven't had a fight or anything. Have you met me before?"

She saw the chain hanging around my neck and pulled it out from under my jumper. "Oh, it's not… you haven't opened it yet have you?"

I quickly pulled my necklace away from her. "What are you talking about? Opened what?"

"Oh Sta… Summer. You don't know who you are do you?" She reached out to touch my face and I quickly pulled away from her. "Summer, it's okay. I know you, in the future, just like I know the Doctor."

"Yeah? So what's my necklace got to do with any of it?" I was now twisting it between my fingers.

"It's not the necklace, it's the watch. Do you know what it is?" Was she talking about the watch in my room? How could she know about that? I shook my head at her, I'd always had it. I just assumed it had been past down the family.

She looked like she was about to reply when Amy's head popped out of the drop ship. "Doctor Song? Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?"

"No just the 4 seconds." River replied before turning back to me. I backed away slowly and ran over to where Amy was. That woman had seriously scared me.

I walked in and saw Amy trying to turn the screen off. "Amy, what's wrong?" I could tell straight away that something wasn't right.

"It won't turn off. And look, it's moved."

I looked at the Angel on the screen and it had moved. Its hands were no longer covering its face. "But you're just a recording. You can't move." I said, as I got a little closer to the screen. I tried to pull the power cable out from the screen but it wouldn't budge.

"Summer…" I turned back to Amy and saw her pointing at the screen. I almost screamed when I saw that the Angel was right up against the camera.

"That's not possible." I whispered to her as we both backed away to the door. "Doctor!" I finally managed to call.

"Doctor!" Amy and I both screamed at the same time, trying to get the door open. When we turned around we saw that the Angel was coming out of the screen.

"Doctor! It's in the room. There's a stupid Angel in the room!" I shouted, hoping that he could hear me.

"Summer? Amy?" The Doctor called as he finally came rushing over. "Are you all right? What's happening?"

"Doctor? Doctor, it' coming out of the television." Amy told him. I didn't take my eyes off it. I remembered what he had said before, that it could only move if it wasn't being observed. "But it's just a recording."

"No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel." Things were not looking good. Being locked in a room with an Angel, think I liked it better being suck with some Daleks.

"Don't take your eyes off it. Keep looking. It can't move if you're looking." The Doctor called through the closed door.

"I am bloody looking." I shouted. "Amy, keep looking at it, I can't… I need to blink." I moved closer to Amy and took hold of her hand. "Let me know when you need to blink okay?"

"Okay. What's it going to do to us?" I could tell she was scared.

"I really don't know. But I'm sure the Doctor will get us out of here."

"Summer, Amy, not the eyes. Look at the Angel but don't look at the eyes." We heard the Doctor call.

"Why?" Amy called, keeping her eyes fixed on the Angel that was now half in the room.

"The eyes are not the windows to the soul. They are the doors. Beware what may enter there."

"Doctor, what did you say earlier, about images?" I asked, watching the timer on the screen.

"Whatever holds the image of an Angel, is an Angel." River called.

"Amy, you still got the control?"

"Yeah, why?"

I watched the timer out of the corner of my eye. "Keep looking, and when I tell you, hit the pause button. Got it?"

"But it won't turn off. Pausing it isn't going to make any difference." She protested.

"Amy, please. Just listen to me. When I say, hit pause. Understood?" I said firmly. I had a plan, and I just had to hope it worked.

"Okay."

"Right, one, two, three… NOW!" I shouted and Amy hit pause. The screen instantly turned off and the door clanked open.

"I froze it. Summer found a sort of blip on the tape and we froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an Angel anymore. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good?" Amy said, still standing in shock.

As soon as the doors had opened the Doctor had grabbed hold of me and was hugging me fiercely. "You okay?" He whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm okay. Apart from having you crushing the air out of me, I'm fine." I told him, not even trying to get out of his grip.

"River, hug Amy." He demanded as he finally let me go.

"Why?" Amy asked curiously as River took hold of her and hugged her.

"Because I'm busy." He started to sonic the screen and power cable, which he managed to pull out easily.

"So, that was the Angel?" I asked as I stepped up behind the Doctor.

"That was a projection of the Angel. It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant." The Doctor said before we heard a loud explosion coming from outside.

"Doctor, we're through." Father Octavian called.

"Okay, now it starts." He said before taking my hand and pulling me out along with him. "What did River say to you earlier?"

I looked at him and bit my lip. "She said she knows me from the future as well. She thought we had had a fight or something because of how quiet I was being."

He looked at me, and I could see he wasn't convinced. "What else? She said something to you to make you run off, I saw you. You were scared. What happened?"

"She, um, she said something about a watch." I watched the Doctor's eyes widen.

"What watch?" There was panic in his voice.

"I… I don't know, she didn't say. Doctor, what's going on?" I looked at his eyes and felt tears pricking at my own. "Doctor, please. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't know. But I promise you we will find out. Right now, we need to deal with this Angel. So come on, let's get going." His kissed my head and started dragging me along with him again.

We ended up climbing down a rope ladder to get into the chamber. The Doctor kicked a gravity globe into the air and the whole place filled with light. Everywhere we looked there were stone statues. River described it as looking for a needle in a haystack.

The Doctor took my hand and we started walking forwards. He only let me go when River beckoned me over. I watched her inject something into Amy's arm, the girl let out a cry of pain as she did.

"Your turn. Like I told Amy, this won't hurt a bit." She injected me but I didn't make a sound.

"You were right, that didn't hurt actually."

Amy glared at me. "Are you serious? That really hurt."

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I'm used to injections. Oh the joy of hospital visits."

Amy just shook her head while River looked at me sadly. "So, what's he like? In the future, I mean. Because you know him in the future, don't you?" Amy asked River.

"The Doctor? Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Oh, well, that's very helpful. Mind if I write that down?"

River looked over at the Doctor. "Yes, we are."

"Sorry, what?"

"Talking about you." She said with a grin on her face.

"I wasn't listening. I'm busy."

"Ah, the other way up." He slowly turned the device in his hands the other way up and mumbled.

"You're so his wife." Amy insisted.

"Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. This is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything that simple?" River glanced over at me and tried her best to smile.

"Yep."

"You're good. You're far from right, but you are very good."

I walked over to the Doctor and he instantly wrapped an arm around me. "What's the matter?" He asked, still looking at the statues but still holding me.

"That woman is doing my head in." I told him as I rested my head against him.

He let out a little laugh. "Welcome to my world."

"So, how many times have you met her so far? Do you actually know who she is yet?" I asked, looking around at the statues myself.

"A handful of times. I have no idea who she is still. But if she knows you, then it means I manage to get you to stick around for a while."

I groaned. "You mean I have to meet her again and spend more time with her?"

He laughed again. "Don't worry. I'll be there with you. We'll both have to put up with her."

"Or, you just put up with her for the both of us? Next time you go pick her up, I'll just wait in the TARDIS. Spend some time in the library, keep out of the way."

"Nope, if I have to do it, then so do you." I let out a sigh, knowing he was right.

"Fine. But you better make it worth my while. I want to see amazing, brilliant, fantastic things. In fact, I'm going to make a list of all the things I want to see and the people I want to meet."

"Deal." He said, kissing my forehead.

We carried on looking until we heard a gunshot ring out through the chamber. The Doctor once again took my hand and we ran back to find one of the clerics had fired as a statue. Father Octavian was being rather harsh with the boy.

"What's your name?" I asked him softly.

"Bob, ma'am."

"That's a great name, I love Bob." I said to him, giving him my best smiled. He smiled back at me a little.

"It's a sacred name. We all have sacred names. They're given to us in the service of the church." Father Octavian informed us.

"Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now eh?" I watched as the young lad agreed with the Doctor. "Ah, good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on."

We soon made our way into the maze. There were statues everywhere and the Doctor was holding onto my hand rather tightly. It was hard to tell who was more scared.

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse? There's a whole ship up there." Amy asked as we walked.

"Incredible builders, the Aplans." River called to her.

"Had dinner with their Chief Architect once. Two heads are better than one." The Doctor smiled away as he spoke.

"What, you mean you helped him?" Amy asked curiously.

"No, I mean he had two heads. That book, the very end, what did it say?"

River pulled out the book and went to the last page. "What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels."

"Well, isn't that comforting." I mumbled, earning a nudge from the Doctor before we carried on walking. There was something bothering me about every statue we passed. There was something wrong with them all, every single one of them.

After some time Amy started to complain again. "Are we there yet? It's a hell of a climb."

"The maze is on 6 levels, representing the ascent of the soul. Only 2 levels to go." River assured her.

"Lovely species, the Aplans. We should go visit them some time."

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy seemed to have forgotten the fact that the Doctor had a time machine.

"So is Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Doctor, there's something. I don't know what it is." River said nervously as we all looked around.

"Yeah, there's something wrong. Don't know what it is yet either, working on it." The Doctor said before continuing to ramble on.

My eyes widened in horror as I noticed what both the Doctor and River had failed to notice. I tugged on the Doctors arm. "Doctor, how many heads on an Aplan?" I whispered.

"Two, why?"

I bit my lip. "And how many heads on the statues?"

He instantly shone his torch at the nearest statue, confirming what I was thinking. "Oh."

"What's wrong?" Amy asked before River finally realised it as well.

"How could we have not noticed that?" River asked.

"Low level perception filter, or maybe we're thick. Well, all but Summer. She saw it when we couldn't." I looked at him, not understanding why he said that.

"What's wrong, sir?" Octavian finally asked.

"Nobody move. Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger."

"What danger?" He asked. River and the Doctor reiterated that fact that the Aplans have two heads.

"So why don't the statues?" I said as I kept my torch light on one.

"Everyone, over there. Just move. Don't ask questions, don't speak." The Doctor pushed me back into an alcove with everyone else. "Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches." One of the clerics protested. "Just do it." One by one we all turned them off until the only one left on was the Doctors. "Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment."

"Are you sure about this?" River asked, fear evident in her voice.

"No." he said before turning it off for less then a second.

"Oh, my God. They've moved." Amy cried. The statue that had been in front of us had moved closer.

The Doctor ran back the way we had come. "They're Angels. All of them."

"But they can't be." River protested.

"Clerics, keep watching them." He ran back a little more and looked down across the cavern before coming back. "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

"But there was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear." River was panicking. She was starting to think that it was all her fault, but how was she to know they would all be Angels.

"Could they have been here already?" I asked the Doctor as we kept looking at the statues.

"The Aplans, what happened? How did they die out?"

River shrugged. "Nobody knows."

The Doctor grinned. "We know."

The statues didn't look anything like the Angel we had seen on the clip from the Byzantium. They were deformed, or as the Doctor explained, dying and losing their form.

"They must have been down here for centuries, starving." The Doctor said as he kept rambling on again.

Something that the Doctor had said earlier flew to the front of my mind. "Wait, Doctor. Earlier you said that the radiation was dinner to an Angel. If they're starving, and the radiation is spilling out, then that means…"

His eyes widened as he finally caught onto what I was saying. "The crash of the Byzantium wasn't an accident, it was a rescue mission for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army, and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here fast." River announced, keeping her torch and eyes on as many of the statues at she could.

Father Octavian was quickly trying to contact the rest of his clerics to inform them that all the statues were active. Unfortunately his warning came too late. Angelo and Christian had already been killed. The Doctor was talking to Bob, Sacred Bob, and found out that the Angels snapped the clerics necks. That was unusual behaviour for an Angel, usually they would displace them in time.

"Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?" The Doctor asked him over the comms.

"_I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me too._"

"What do you mean, the Angel killed you too?"

"_Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something._"

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?" The Doctor asked. I was getting more and more confused now. The way the Angel snapped their necks, was taking to the Doctor, it was wrong. And scary.

"_You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion._"

"So when you say you're on your way up to us…"

"_It's the Angel that's coming, sir. Yes._"

"No way out." The Doctor whispered as he paced around.

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go! Go, go, go. All of you run." Father Octavian ordered, ushering us all forward.

"Angel Bob. Which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?" The Doctor asked.

"_Yes, sir. And the other Angels are still restoring._"

"Ah, so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you." The Doctor said before starting to run.

I had stopped with Amy, she was holding onto the railing of the walkway we were standing on. "Amy, come on we have to go."

"I can't." She said as the Doctor ran past us.

"Don't wait for me. Go, run." He called before stopping and looking at us both.

"I can't. No, really, I can't." I looked from Amy to the Doctor, not knowing what was going on.

"Why not?" He finally asked her.

"Look at it. Look at my hand. It's stone." Amy cried. I looked down at her hand, it didn't look stone to me or the Doctor.

"You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?" The Doctor said as he shone his torch in her eyes.

"I couldn't stop myself. I tried."

"Listen to me, it's messing with your head, your hand is not made of stone." He was trying to reassure her but Amy kept insisting that her hand was stone.

"The Angel is going to come and it's going to turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. Concentrate. Move your hand."

"I can't."

"Then we're all going to die. Because I'm not leaving either if you." I said as I folded my arms in front of my chest. The Doctor had already been telling me to go but I was being stubborn, I was not going anywhere.

"You're not going to die." Amy insisted. "You've got to go. You know you have. Doctor, you've got all that stuff with River and that's all got to happen. You know you can't die here."

"Time can be re-written. It doesn't work like that." One of the statues moved into sight while he had been talking. "Keep your eyes on it. Don't blink."

"Run!" Amy shouted at us both.

"You see, we're not going. We're not leaving you here. You can move your hand, it is not stone." I told her firmly.

"You've got to go. Those people up there will die without you, Doctor. If you stay here with me, you'll have as good as killed them."

I looked over at the Doctor and bit my lip. I saw his eyes light up. "Amy Pond, you are magnificent, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand. You've got to leave me."

"Oh no, we're not leaving you, never. I'm sorry about this." The Doctor said before biting Amy's hand. I had to cover my mouth to stop my laughing while Amy screamed in pain.

"See? Not stone, now run." The Doctor said, grabbing my hand.

"You bit me."

"Yeah, and you're alive." I called to her as the Doctor dragged me along.

"Look, I've got a mark. Look at my hand!" She exclaimed. She was clearly not impressed that the Doctor had bitten her.

"Yes, and you're alive. Did I mention?"

Amy kept rubbing her hand. "Blimey, your teeth. Have you got space teeth?" I just groaned as we made our way to where everyone else was waiting.

The lights were flickering, the Angels were draining the power, even the gravity globe was going out. The Angels were advancing on all sides. We were trapped.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a really good idea." River said to the Doctor in panic.

"There's always a way out." I said at the same time as the Doctor. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me.

"_Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?_" Angel Bob called over the comms.

"Hello Angels, what's your problem?" The Doctor asked, a bit too cheerfully for my liking.

"_Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir._"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"_There's something the Angels are very keep you should know before the end._"

"Which is?"

"_I died in fear. You told me my fear would keep be alive, but I died, afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down. I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that._"

"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." I squeezed the Doctor's hand this time, letting him know that I was there and hopefully reassuring him.

"_But you're trapped, sir, and about to die._"

"Yeah. I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake."

"_What mistake, sir?_"

The Doctor turned to Amy and River and asked them if they trusted him. I smiled when they both said that they did. Then he turned to Father Octavian and asked him the same. He looked at me and I just smiled and nodded at him. There was no need for him to even ask me the question.

He looked back at Octavian. "Give me your gun. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!"

"Jump where?" Father Octavian queried.

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith Bishop. On my signal." The Doctor said, looking around the cavern.

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it." The Doctor said, pointing the gun upwards.

"_Sorry, can I ask again. You mentioned a mistake we made?_"

"Oh, big mistake. Huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"_And what would that me, sir?_" Angel Bob asked.

"Me." The Doctor replied simple before firing the gun.

* * *

**A/N: The time is nearing for Summer to learn more about herself. But I'm sure you have all guess what it is by now. No? Really? Course you have! **

**As always, please review. And if you're all really nice and behave, I might even upload the next chapter this weekend as well. I know you all are just sitting on the edge of your seats, waiting to find out what comes next. **

**Pippa**


	9. Flesh and Stone

**Disclaimer: I own all of it... Fine, I only own Summer. But she is awesome.**

**A/N: Oh you lovely lovely people. You really know how to bring a smile to my face. So here it is. The next chapter because you are all just so wonderful! Keep the reviews coming!**

* * *

"Up. Look up." The Doctor said as he pulled me to my feet. "You Okay?" He whispered to me as River helped Amy up.

I nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." He gazed into my eyes, as if he was trying to work out if I was telling him the truth or not. I was far from fine, but considering the situation, it was the best I could come up with. I wasn't going to tell him that I was absolutely terrified that we were all going to be killed by psychopathic statues. Eventually he smiled at me and let go of my hands.

"What happened?" Amy asked once she was on her feet.

"We jumped." River said as she looked around and checked on the clerics.

"Jumped where?"

"Up, up. Look up." The Doctor said as he walked around where we were standing.

"Where are we?"

I rolled my eyes, even I could see where we were. "Exactly where we were." I told her.

"No we're not." She said as she continued to look around. The Doctor went over to where she was standing and got her to move out of the way. "Doctor, what am I looking at? Explain."

"Oh, come on, Amy, think. The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?" The Doctor asked her as he sonicked a hatch by her feet.

"The artificial gravity. One good jump, and up we fell. He shot out the gravity globe to give us an updraft, and here we are." I said, watching the Doctor at work.

"Doctor, the statues. They look more like Angels now." Father Octavian said as he looked at them, down where we were only moments before.

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army." He said just as he managed to get the hatch open.

The lights on the outside of the ship started to explode. The Doctor quickly pulled me out of the way as the one I was standing by went and shattered. "They're taking out the lights. Look at them. Look at the Angels." The Doctor said before sitting on the edge of the hatch. "Into the ship, now. Quickly, all of you."

I watched him go down the hole and land upright. The Doctor smiled at me and held out his hands. I sat on the edge, just as he had done and dropped myself in, taking his hands when they were in reach and falling into his arms. I actually blushed a little, while he just smiled at me.

"Come on, it's just a corridor. The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move." The Doctor said as I straightened myself up.

"Doctor, there's something I need to tell you." I bit my lip, I seemed to be doing that a lot. Ever since we first found out there was an Angel, my lip was getting caught between my teeth.

"What is it?" I could hear the slight concern in his voice, he was not going to be happy when I told him.

I didn't get the chance to tell him. "The Angels. Presumably they can jump up too?" Father Octavian said as him and his men got down and in the corridor.

The Doctor took a moment to look around them. "They're here, now. In the dark, we're finished." The large bulkhead further down the corridor slid closed, blocking our path.

"This whole place is a death trap." Octavian said.

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." The Doctor looked at us, we were all just staring at him. I stood there with my arms wrapped around me, my eyes stuck on him. "Oh, just me then. What's through here?" He pointed at the now closed door.

"Secondary flight deck." River informed him.

"Okay, so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?" Amy asked. I shook my head, she was really good at finding the worst of all situations.

"I've thought about that."

"And?"

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See? I've thought about it. The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible." I let out a small sigh. At least the Doctor had thought about it.

"How impossible?" River asked as she worked on a panel.

"2 minutes." He said before getting back to work on the door.

Then the hatch that we had come through opened and the lights started to flicker out. I watched as an arm appeared by the outside of the hatch. Then the lights went out again for only a second and the Angels were inside with us, the hatch behind them closed. No way out.

"Clerics, keep watching them." Octavian told his men.

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now." I watched the Doctor frantically working away by the door.

"Good work, Doctor." Octavian said, keeping his gun and eyes trained on the Angels.

"Yes. Good, good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far."

The Doctor was rambling, I knew something was wrong. "So far? What's the bad part?" I asked him as I stared at him.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control." Father Octavian was quick to tell the Doctor to do it, but I knew it couldn't be that simple.

Then it struck me. "Including all the lights. All of them. He'll need to turn out the lights."

"How long for?"

"Fraction of a second. Maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer." I could tell from the Doctor's voice that he was starting to panic.

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship. There isn't a manual for this." He was definitely panicking.

"And even if there was he would probably throw it in a black hole." I mumbled, but the Doctor and River both heard me. She smiled at me while the Doctor just frowned before waving his sonic in front of me threateningly.

"No other way. Bishop?" The Doctor stood next to the man, waiting for an answer, for him to tell him to do it.

"Doctor Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him."

"He's not just some kind of madman, then?"

I smiled at that comment and caught River's eye for a second. It looked like she wanted to smile back at me. "I absolutely trust him." Clearly she thought he was a madman as well.

I watched the Doctor get back to the door he was trying to open. I was going to follow after him when Octavian started talking to River in a very hushed tone. I pretended not to be listening but I was straining my ears to make it out.

"Okay, Doctor. We've got your back." Father Octavian finally said.

"Bless you. Bishop." The Doctor said with a smile. I watched as Amy helped him work, I wasn't doing anything, I suddenly felt very useless. "Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns."

"Ten." Amy said nodding her head.

I frowned at her, so did the Doctor. "No four, four turns." The Doctor turned to look at me and I just shrugged my shoulders. "Summer, help Amy."

"Yeah, four. I heard you." Amy said as she grabbed hold on one side of the wheel.

"Ready!" The Doctor said as he shoved his screwdriver against a unit on the wall.

"On my count then. God be with us all. Three, two, one, fire!" Octavian called. The sound of bullets being fired filled the air, and I hated it.

Amy and I struggled to turn the wheel, it was stiff and heavy but we eventually managed to get it moving. "Doctor, it's opening." I called, as the door started to slide across and open.

"Fall back!" The Doctor called, pushing me through the door. Amy and River were close behind me, then the Clerics and Father Octavian appeared. The Doctor was the last one through, and I was worried that he wasn't going to make it.

We ended up in another corridor, similar to the one we had just escaped from. The door at the end of this one was much easier for the Doctor to open with just his sonic screwdriver. He opened it and again was the last person to come through.

The wheel to the door started turning and I watched as Father Octavian placed some kind of device on the door.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, just as I was about to. Now I was really started to get the feeling of uselessness. I couldn't even manage to ask a question before some one else did. But I still had something to tell the Doctor, something important, something that he wasn't going to like.

"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now." Octavian stood there looking smug as the wheel stopped turning.

The Doctor just grinned at him. "Yeah?"

Then the wheel started to turn again. It was slower than before, but it was still turning. "Dear, God!" Father Octavian exclaimed, not able to believe something was that strong.

"Ah, now you're getting it. You've bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time." The Doctor said as both he and River worked around the control units in the room.

The wheels for the other doors all started to open as well. The Clerics were quick to magnetize those doors as well.

"Doctor, there's something I really, really need to tell you." I said to him as calmly and quietly as I could. He turned and looked at me, there was something about his eyes, I could see how concerned he was and he had no idea what I was going to tell him. "Amy wasn't the only one to look in the eyes of an Angel. Sorry, Doctor."

The Doctor didn't know what to say, which was fine with me. I had half expected him to be angry with me but I could tell from his expression that he wasn't angry. Before he did get a chance to reply to me River had pulled my arm and had me helping her work on some wiring.

"Doctor, how long have we got?" Octavian asked as they finished sealing all the doors.

"Five minutes, max." He replied.

"Nine." Amy said, causing both me and the Doctor to look at her.

"Five." The Doctor repeated.

"Five. Right, yeah." I watched Amy, there was someone wrong, there had to be.

River pulled my attention back when she put her hand over mine. I looked at her and saw her smiling at me. "Summer, I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. This is the youngest I've ever seen you, you're just so quiet."

I could see so much sadness in her eyes. "River, earlier you said something about a watch…"

"I can't say anything, I'm sorry. I never should have said anything in the first place." She was speaking so softly to me and it was just making me worry even more. "Everything will be fine, I promise you." She gave my hand a quick squeeze and smiled at me before turning to the Doctor. "We need another way out of here."

"There isn't one." Octavian stated.

"Yeah there is, course there is." The Doctor said quickly, moving away from the control unit and around the room. "This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So, what do they need?"

"Of course." River said in realisation.

"Of course what? What do they need?" I asked River as she was still standing next to me. She didn't answer she just smiled at me more.

"Can we get in there?" Octavian asked.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up." The Doctor looked at the wall carefully. I was still confused as to what was going on. "There's clamps. Release the clamps." He ordered.

"What's through there? What do they need?" Amy asked as we both watched everyone else working away to get the wall to slide up.

"They need to breath." River finally told us both.

I watched as the wall slid up. I could not believe what I was seeing. "But that's… that's a…" I was struggling to form a sentence, I was that stunned by the sight before me.

"It's an oxygen factory." River said happily.

"It's a forest." Amy said, standing next to me. She was struggling to come to terms with what she was looking at as well.

"Yeah, it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory."

"And if we're lucky, an escape route." The Doctor said, looking towards the forest. I was starting to calm down a little, I mean it made sense that they would have an oxygen factory on a spaceship. Especially if the occupants needed oxygen to survive.

I was standing right next to Amy when I heard her say 'eight'. I frowned at her, as did River, she had heard her as well but Amy claimed she didn't say anything.

"Is there another exit? Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there." The Doctor said. Father Octavian quickly went into the forest and started scanning and making sure it was safe.

"Tree's on a spaceship. Brilliant." I said quietly as the Doctor came and stood next to me.

"Oh, more than trees. Way better than trees. You're going to love this." He grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me towards the nearest tree. "Treeborgs. Trees plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors to the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a spaceship in a maze." The Doctor pulled me back towards the room everyone else was still waiting in, including Amy. "Have I impressed either of you yet?"

Amy smiled and gave a little laugh. "Seven."

The Doctor still had hold of my hand and ended up dragging me with him towards Amy. "Seven?"

Amy looked at us both. "I'm sorry, what?"

I looked at her nervously. "You said seven."

"No. I didn't."

"Yes you did." River said from where she was resting against a unit.

"Doctor, there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the primary flight deck." Father Octavian called back.

"Oh, good. That's where we need to go." The Doctor said, watching Amy closely.

"Plotting a safe path now."

"Quick as you like." The Doctor didn't take his eyes from Amy.

"_Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir._" The Doctor pulled the communication device out from his pocket and went to sat down, still dragging me with him.

"Ah, there you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject."

"_The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve._"

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's thing's with you?" The Doctor asked.

"_The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond._"

"Well, we've got comfy chairs. Did I mention?" I had to stop myself from laughing.

"_We have no need of comfy chairs._"

"I made him say comfy chairs." The Doctor said as he turned to me. I smiled at him and gave him a little nudge. Then Amy said 'six'. "Okay, Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy?"

"_There is something in her eye._"

"What's in here eye?" The Doctor asked, playtime was over, now he wanted answers.

"_We are._"

The Doctor was quickly standing in front of Amy, looking at her eyes. "What's he talking about?" Amy asked. "I'm five. I mean, five. Fine! I'm fine."

"You're counting, Amy." I told her as I stood beside the Doctor.

"You're counting down from ten. You have been for a couple of minutes." The Doctor was still trying to work out why she was counting down. None of us knew.

"_We shall take her. We shall take all but one of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space_"

The Doctor sat back down in the chair again. "Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship but nowhere near that much." As every minute passed I was getting more and more anxious.

"_With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand._" Then we all heard a horrid, ear piercing screeching sound.

"What's that? Dear God, what is it?" River questioned, slightly panicking.

"_It's hard to put it in your terms, Doctor Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing_."

"Laughing?" The Doctor questioned. Even I didn't understand, why would they be laughing? How could they even laugh?

"_Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor and the TARDIS hasn't noticed._"

The Doctor got up from the chair and walked forwards. "No, wait. There's something I've missed." I turned away from him and saw a huge crack appear in the wall.

"Doctor…" I whispered, pointing towards the crack. He slowly turned around and looked at it. He quickly rushed towards it more, Amy close behind him. Something was telling me to stay away from it, to stay as far away as possible.

"That's… that's… that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl." The whole room was shaking, as the crack grew wider.

Father Octavian ordered everyone to move out and into the forest. River had to pretty much drag me. I couldn't take my eyes off the crack. There was something so wrong about it, but it felt like I should know about it. I had a feeling that I had seen it somewhere before. I also didn't want to leave the Doctor there on his own, but River insisted he would be fine.

Walking through the forest, I took hold of Amy's hand. I knew something was wrong with her, and then her breathing became a little erratic. "Amy? Amy, what's wrong?" She stopped walking and just stood there. "River!" I called, not taking my eyes off Amy's. "River, you need to come here, now."

River was there in a flash. She could see something was wrong as well. "Amy, what's wrong?"

Amy just stared ahead blankly. "Four." She started swaying and I held onto her as she sat down. I watched her as she rubbed her head before lying down on a tree trunk.

"Amy? Amy, I'm here, it's okay." I said, trying to reassure her. River had the med scanner and was checking Amy over while telling Father Octavian that we didn't go anywhere until the Doctor was with us.

Then he appeared behind River. "Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."

"How did you get past them?" I asked as the Doctor came to check on Amy. I noticed he was missing his beloved tweet jacket.

"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe." I knew there was something more bothering him.

"What was it?" Amy asked groggily.

"The end of the universe. Let's have a look then." The Doctor said, taking the med scanner from River.

"So, what's wrong with me?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, you're fine." River assured her.

As soon as she had finished the Doctor started. "Everything, you're dying."

"Doctor!" River cried. I just sat there in front of Amy, wishing there was something I could do to help her.

"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her she'll get all better. Right, Amy, Amy, Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eyes. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?" The Doctor was rambling.

"Doctor…" Amy called.

"Busy."

"Scared."

"Course you're scared. You're dying. Shut up." I wanted to smack him, but I knew that was not going to help. He was thinking, he was trying to work out a way to help Amy. "What happened? She stared at the Angel. She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long." The Doctor looked over at me, both of us had looked into the eyes, and yet only Amy was the one being affected. "Come on, come on, come on. Wakey, wakey. She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and… and…"

"The image of an Angel is an Angel." I said, not breaking eye contact with the Doctor.

"A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that's exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind." The Doctor's eyes were wide.

"Three. Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die." Amy mumbled. I didn't move from in front of her.

"Please just shut up. I'm thinking. Now, counting. What's that all about?" The Doctor pulled the comm out of his pocket. "Bob, why are they making her count?"

"_To make her afraid, sir._"

"Okay, but why? What for?"

"_For fun, sir._"

The Doctor screamed in frustration before looking at me. "Right, now tell me this. Why haven't they done the same to Summer? Because she looked into the eyes as well. But they aren't making her count."

"_The Angels want her alive, sir. For now. While she is alive the Angels can see everything she sees, sir. She is strong and smart, she is something new. The Angels have a high interest in her. She will help the Angels._"

The Doctor threw the communicator away and growled in even more frustration. Amy asked what was happening to her. "Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off." The Doctor explained.

"Then what do I do?" Amy asked quietly.

"If it was a real screen, what would we do? We'd pull the plug. We'd kill the power. But we can's just knock her out, the Angel would just take over." The Doctor said.

"Then what? Quickly." River said, watching as the med scanner showed Amy's state was getting worse.

"We've got to shut down the vision centres of her brain. We've got to pull the plug. Starve the Angel."

I looked at Amy, she was so helpless and scared. Then it struck me, like hell was I going to help the Angels. I was going to prove that I was never going to help them. "Amy, close you're eyes."

"No. No, I don't want to." She said, shaking her head a little.

"Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you. It's afraid. Do it, Amy. Close your eyes. Otherwise God help you, I will make you close them." I warned her, stroking her red hair. Eventually she did close her eyes.

River kept check of the med scanner. "She's normalising. Oh, Summer. You did it. You did it!" River smiled at me.

"Oh, Summer. That was brilliant! You're brilliant." The Doctor said hugging me and kissing my forehead.

"I'm glad you liked it. Not so sure the Angels did." I told him as I sunk to my knees, starting to feel a little light headed. "Doctor, the Angels, they're using me to see everything we do, right?"

"Yes. Summer, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked, kneeling on the floor in front of me.

"Oh, you know. Just an Angel knocking around in my head." I told him before closing my eyes. "If I can't see, then neither can they. Like hell am I going to help the Angels."

The Doctor helped me off the ground and sat me down next to Amy. "Summer, what's going on with the Angels?"

"Um, well, they didn't like that fact that I worked out how to pause the one in Amy's mind. Or the fact that now they can't see through my eyes. I think I have really made them angry." I told him, keeping my eyes tightly shut. I had no intentions of opening them any time soon. "So, I hope you come up with one of your brilliant plans soon."

I heard the Doctor chuckle lightly. "Don't worry, I'll think of something. Both of you are going to be fine." I felt him kiss the top of my head. I couldn't help but smile. I trusted him, if he said he would think of something then he really would.

"Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on." Octavian called as more Angels approached.

"We're too exposed everywhere. And Amy can't move. And anyway that's not the plan." The Doctor told him.

"There's a plan?" River asked in shock.

"I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics, you're going to stay here, look after Summer and Amy. If anything happens to either of them, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible, twice. River, you and me, we're going to find the primary flight deck. Which is…" He licked his finger and stuck it up in the air. "A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Summer and Amy."

"How?" I asked him curiously.

"I'll do a thing."

I laughed a little. "What thing?"

"I don't know. It's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!" The Doctor said. I couldn't help but mock salute him, and I know I heard him laughing a little when I done it.

I took hold of Amy's hand. "I hope this thing of his is really impressive when he finally figures it out." That made her giggle. "Still got a sense of humour I see. You must be feeling better."

"Yeah, I am. Thanks. You know, for working out how to stop me from dying."

I couldn't help but smile. "No problem. Glad to be of service to you rather than the Angels."

"You'll both be safe here." I heard the Doctor telling us. "We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can, promise."

"You always say that." Amy pointed out to him. He had promised her five minutes when she was a little girl and that turned into 12 years.

"I always come back. Good luck, everyone. Behave. Do not let those girls open their eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Summer, Amy, later. River, going to need your computer." Amy and I both listened, as the Doctor's voice grew fainter.

"You better come back, or I'm going to give you hell." I mumbled to myself as I stood up from the trunk. I hated just sitting down, Amy needed to rest, I didn't. The only reason I was stuck there was to stop the Angels using me.

"Amy, you need to start trusting me now. It's never been more important." I heard the Doctor say to Amy quietly. I moved away a little more to give them some more privacy but it didn't really work like that.

"But you don't always tell me the truth."

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?" Amy asked. I could tell from her voice that she was terrified.

"I don't know yet, but we're working it out. Now listen. Remember what I told you when you were 7?" There was a lot of emotion in the Doctor's voice.

"What did you tell me?"

"No. No, that's not the point. You have to remember." I heard him say to her before hearing him move. I had kept my back to them the whole time, trying not to listen in. it was hard since their conversation was the only sound I could hear. And with my eyes closed, my other senses were heightened.

"Summer…" I heard someone whisper to me before taking hold of both my hands. "Summer, I hope that one day you can forgive me." It was the Doctor.

"Forgive you? What for?" I asked him curiously.

"For all the thing's I have ever done to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you. I'm sorry, Summer. I am so, so sorry." I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly. Without think, I wrapped my arms around him as well. "And you have every right to be angry and upset with me."

"Doctor, I really don't understand what is going on. You're starting to scare me a little." I moved my hands from around his neck and down to his chest to push him away a little, hoping to get some answers. Something was different, he was different to when he left with River and Father Octavian not so long ago. "Doctor, when did you get your ja…"

The Doctor found a way to stop me from finishing my question. I felt his lips push against mine, he was kissing me. At first I didn't know what to do but after only a few moments I gave in and kissed him back. I heard someone giggling in the background, a woman.

"Time to go." She whispered to the Doctor as he finally pulled away from me, leaving me breathless. He cupped my face in his hands and gave me one quick peck on the lips before disappearing. That voice, that woman, I recognised her.

I found my way back to Amy and dropped myself down next to her. What ever just happened made no sense to me at all. The Doctor was different and who was that woman who was with him?

"So, what's happening? Anything happening out there?" I called to the Clerics.

"The Angels are still grouping. Are you getting this too?" One of the Clerics said.

"The trees? Yeah." Another one answered him.

"What's wrong with the trees?" I asked. No one answered me. "Oi! What's happening? Tell me now, or you're going to really wish the Doctor had taken me with him." I was getting frustrated now.

"It's the trees, ma'am. The trees are going out."

"Oh, lovely." I said sarcastically. "We've had the light's going out, now the trees are going out. Are the stars going to start going out next?" I let out a sigh, that didn't even make any sense.

"Summer, are you okay?" Amy asked, I felt her reaching out, trying to find my hand.

I managed to grab hers and give it a squeeze. "I'm absolutely peachy. Be better once we are out of here, but can't complain too much. Still alive at the moment aren't we."

"Do you really think the Doctor is coming back for us?" I could tell that Amy really wasn't sure that he was.

"Both of us have waited a long time for him, of course he is coming back. He always comes back in the end doesn't he?" I tried to be confident, to make it sound like I had no doubt what so ever, but I did have doubt. What had confused me even more was that kiss. As if I wasn't messed up enough already.

"Angels advancing, Sir."

"Weapons primed. Combat distance 5 feet. Wait for it." One of the Clerics called.

"What is it? What's happening?" No one answered again. I really wanted to smack each and every one of those Clerics. "Just tell me!" I shouted after a few more moments of silence.

"Keep your positions and ma'am's, keep your eyes shut. Wait… the ships not on fire, is it?"

"It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it. Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?" The other Cleric replied.

"Wait a second, the Angels have gone? They can't have just gone." Something was seriously wrong if the Angels had changed tactics and were no long crowding us.

"There's still movement out there, but away from us now. It's like they're running." Marco told me.

"Running from what?" I wondered out loud. "What are you all looking at? What's out there?"

"It's like, I don't know. A curtain of energy, sort of shifting. Makes you feel weird. Sick." Marco finally said.

"And you think it scared the Angels?" Amy asked. I felt her tug at my hand, she was standing up. I quickly got up as well.

"Amy, what are you doing?"

"Point me at the light." She demanded.

"Amy, you can't. You can't open your eyes." I told her firmly. I was not going to let her do this, the Doctor would be so angry if anything happened to her.

"I can't open my eyes for more than a second, that's what the Doctor said. Still got a bit of countdown left."

"Amy, please. Don't do this." I squeezed her hand, I was scared now. I was really scared.

"I need to see it. Am I looking the right way? I have to be quick."

"Okay, Amy. If you're going to do this then so am I. So come on then, Marco, where are we looking?" I wasn't sure this was such a good idea but if Amy was going to do it, then so was I.

Marco stood both of us so that we were facing the right way. "Be very quick."

"Ready, Amy?" She squeezed my hand. "Okay, on three, and I will be counting after to make sure you close your eyes quickly enough. Understood? Okay, one, two, three…" We both opened our eyes.

"It's the same shape. It's the crack in my wall." I could tell Amy was scared.

"Close your eyes, now. Both of you." Marco said.

Amy and I both ignored him. "It's following me! How can it be following me?" Amy said before falling to her knees. Marco was quick to cover her eyes, forcing her to close them, I quickly shut mine as well, feeling the throbbing in my head start.

"Amy, are you okay?" I asked her, still holding her hand tightly.

"Yeah. It was the same shape."

"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" The other Cleric who was still with us asked.

"Go for it. Don't get too close."

"Hang on. What about the other two? Why not just wait until they're back?" I asked. I remembered him sending the others to look at it when they first saw it.

"What other two?" Marco asked in confusion.

"The ones you sent before." Amy told him, she had heard him as well.

"I didn't send anyone before."

"Yes you did, we heard you. Crispin and Phillip. You sent them to look." I told him.

"Crispin and who? There never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission, I promise you."

"No, I heard you. Before you sent Pedro, you sent Crispin and Phillip, and now you can't even remember them. Something happened. I don't know what, and you don't even remember." Amy said, panicking.

"Pedro?"

"Yes, before you sent Pedro." I said angrily.

"Who's Pedro?"

Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong. Amy and I were not imagining things, there had definitely been more people, and there had definitely been a Crispin, Phillip and Pedro with us before. "Something's happening. Pedro was here a second ago and now you can't even remember him." I told him firmly, but calmly.

"There never was a Pedro. There's only ever been the three of us here." He couldn't remember any of them. "Listen, I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is. Don't worry, I won't get too close."

"No. No, you can't. You mustn't!" I cried. "You can't go anywhere near that thing."

"Here, spare communicator. I'll stay in touch the whole time." He gave it to me and I passed it straight to Amy. I kept begging him not to go, but he wasn't going to listen to me.

Amy and I waited. "Hello? Are you there? Hello? Hello?" Amy called down the communicator.

"_I'm here. I'm fine. Quite close to it now._"

"Then come back. Come back now, please." I said, holding my hand over Amy's on the communicator.

"_It's weird looking at it. It feels really…_" The communicator buzzed, like there was some kind of interference.

"Really what? Hello? Really what? Hello? Hello? Please say you're there. Hello?" Amy called.

"_Amy? Amy? Is that you?_" I let out a sigh of relief when I heard the Doctor's voice come through.

"Doctor?" Amy called back.

"_Where are you? Where's Summer? Are the Clerics with you?_"

"I'm here. But the Clerics, they've gone." I called over towards the communicator. "There was a light and they thought it would be clever to investigate it and walked into it."

"Doctor, they didn't even remember each other." Amy was still scared.

"_No, they wouldn't._"

"What is that light?" Amy asked, I could feel her starting to shake a little.

"_Time running out. Summer, Amy, I'm sorry, I made a mistake. I should never have left you both there._"

"Well, what do we do now?" I asked, even though I already had a bad feeling about what he would want us to do.

"_You come to us. The primary flight deck, the other end of the forest._"

I let out a sigh. "Slight problem, Doctor. We're both temporary blind."

"_Summer, you can open you're eyes. You can lead the way, keep Amy safe._"

"Another slight problem for you, Doctor. I opened my eyes before, to see the crack, talk about headache. The Angels are going to give me a right headache if I keep my eyes open for too long."

I heard the Doctor sigh. "_Yeah, I should have known they would do something like that. Okay, stand up and turn on the spot._" Amy and I both stood up and started turning. "_When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You have to start moving now. There's time energy spilling out of that crack, and you have to stay ahead of it._"

"Oh, this is going to be fun." I mumbled sarcastically. "Let me take a wild guess here. If the time energy catches up with us, we'll have never been born. It will erase every moment of our existence?"

"_You will never have lived at all._" The Doctor confirmed. "_Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving._"

I squeezed Amy's hand as we started walking. The Doctor sent us a bit of software that would tell us when we were near any Angels. We were trying to go as fast as we could but we were both scared.

Then the communicator started bleeping loudly. "Okay, I'm guessing we are surrounded by Angels." I moved my hands onto Amy's shoulders so that I could follow her better as she manoeuvred around. "Doing well, Amy. Doing well." I said, trying to reassure her and keep her calm.

Then Amy tripped. My hands were no longer on her shoulders. "Amy?"

"Summer? I can't find the communicator. I dropped it. I can't find it. Doctor? Summer?" Amy was starting to panic. "Doctor! Summer!"

I could hear the grinding of the statues turning. They had realised that we couldn't see. I only had one option, I had to open my eyes. "I see you, each and every stupid one of you." I said as I backed away. Then Amy disappeared in a flash of light. "Amy!" I shouted. None of the Angels had reached her, I had no idea where she had gone.

I saw the communicator on the ground and picked it up. "Doctor, please tell me you have Amy there?"

"_She is. Where are you?_"

"Right where Amy was. Except there was a problem…" Everything changed and I was no longer standing in the forest. I realised where I was and quickly closed my eyes as I sank to my knees. "You could have bloody warned me." I moaned as I rubbed my head.

"Summer, what did you do?" The Doctor asked as he bent down in front of me.

"I had to open my eyes. The Angels, they realised we couldn't actually see them, they were about to grab Amy, I had to do it." My voice was shaking, as was pretty much every single part of me.

"What about you're head?"

"Well, I don't think it's going to explode just yet." I mumbled before an alarm started going off. "What is that?"

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means the shields going to release." The Doctor said as he pulled me off the floor. As soon as we were standing the door slid up. "Angel Bob, I presume."

"_The time field is coming. It will destroy our reality._"

"Yeah, and look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?" The Doctor asked. He hadn't let me go, he was stilling holding my hand tightly.

"_There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved._" Angel Bob said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?"

"_Your friends will also be saved._"

The Doctor seemed to think for a moment. "Well, there is that."

"I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space-time event too. Throw me in." River said.

"Oh, be serious. Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you, and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip." The Doctor quickly dragged me over to the side and wrapped my hands around some kind of railing. "Do not let go for anything. Okay?" He whispered. I nodded back at him, tightening my grip.

"Doctor, I can't let you do this." River protested. I so badly wanted to laugh, I had figured out what the Doctor was hinting at.

"No, seriously, get a grip." He told her again.

"You're not going to die here!" She protested again. She really did need to just shut up and listen sometimes.

"No, I mean it. River, Amy, get a grip." The Doctor told her. Suddenly she seemed to realise and was off to get a grip with Amy.

"_Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now._"

"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship. Every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or, to put it another way, Angels. Night night."

I felt the Doctor hold on next to me as the gravity failed and we all ended up hanging on for dear life.

"Ah, bruised everywhere." Amy moaned as she sat down on the beach with a blanket wrapped around her.

"Us too." The Doctor said, his arm draped over my shoulder.

"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut." She said.

I just rolled my eyes. "Neither did you. He kept saying, the Angels all fell into the time field, the Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now. That's why I made it out with my eyes open."

"Then why do I remember it at all? Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."

"You're a time traveller now, Amy. It changes the way you see the universe, forever. Good isn't it?" The Doctor was beaming away. He had defeated the Angels and we had made it out alive. Amy asked about the crack, and if that was gone as well. "Yeah, for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening. Somewhere out there, somewhere in time."

I watched as the Doctor walked over to River. I didn't know how to feel about that woman. She knew more about me than I seemed to, and it scared me. She was someone from my future, now I knew how the Doctor felt when he wanted to run away from her.

"Come on, Amy. Let's go say goodbye to Doctor River Song." I said, helping her up and walking over with her.

"You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens." River said, a grin on her face.

"The Pandorica. Ha! That's a fairy tale." The Doctor said, putting his arm over my shoulders again.

"Oh, Doctor, aren't we all? I'll see you there."

"I look forward to it." The Doctor replied with a smile.

"Bye, River." Amy said, she was also smiling at the woman.

"See you, Amy." River said before looking over at me. "Summer…"

I looked at her, my arms folded across my chest. "River." I didn't smile, I didn't grin or laugh. I just simply said her name, and that's when I saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Doctor, Amy, could you give us a minute please?" River asked them politely. The Doctor nodded and he and Amy walked away. Leaving me there with River. "Summer, what I said earlier…"

"No, River. Don't. You're someone from my future, yeah I get that, fine. What I want to know is, what watch you were talking about?" I hadn't moved, I was standing there with my arms still across my chest.

"There's a watch, a fob watch. That's really all I can say."

I looked at her and smiled. "I don't have a fob watch. And even if I did, it would be no business of yours."

"Summer, when the time is right, you have to open it. When it tells you, you must open it. If you don't then everything will change, the whole universe could collapse." River pleaded.

I carried on standing there smiling away at her. "No one tells me what to do Doctor Song. No one." I said as her handcuffs started bleeping, the prison ship was ready to beam her up.

"Summer, please, you have to listen to me!" She called as I finally turned away from her.

"Bye then River! Was interesting, I'll give you that!" I called as I walked straight towards the Doctor and Amy who were waiting for me by the TARDIS.

"What was that all about?" The Doctor asked as I reached the TARDIS.

"Don't really know. Don't really care." I said as I watched him open the door. "Right, I'm going to have a nice, hot bath. See you both in a few hours." I told them as I walked straight in.

"Summer!" The Doctor called, chasing after me. I stopped and turned to face him. "Is everything all right?" I just nodded at him. Everything wasn't really all right but I needed some space to clear my head. "Listen, what River said earlier…"

I let out a sigh. "Doctor, save it. She was going on about some stupid old watch. I didn't even understand half of what she was saying so let's just forget it shall we?" I had snapped at him. That was the first time I had ever spoken to him like that. "Sorry, it's been a long day, I just want to have some time by myself."

The Doctor nodded at me. "That's okay." He said as he hugged me. "Take you're time. See you when you're ready."

I nodded and made my way to my room. The first thing I did was move the picture of my parents on their wedding day. That fob watch was sitting behind it still, exactly where I had put it when I first arrived on the TARDIS. I shook my head and headed into the bathroom. Why was I even listening to what that stupid woman had said? I had liked her at first, but after finding out about her knowing my future, I started to wonder.

It wasn't long until I was trying to relax in the bath. I was trying my best to wash away the memories of the day but it was difficult. I kept thinking about River and what she had said. Then there was something else, the Doctor had kissed me. What was that all about?

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**A/N What was that? Did Summer just trick River? Did she just give away something that she shouldn't? Bet you're all screaming at me now, leaving you hanging like this. It will be worth it, trust me. **

**Big thank you to everyone. The reviewers, who make me want to post more often. The followers and people who favourite the story, you make me want to keep writing. I must be doing something right. **

**Oh, I wonder what will happen in the next chapter?**

**Love you all so much!**

**Pippa**


	10. The End of the Secret

**Disclaimer: I only own Summer.**

**A/N: Aww you guys! So many wonderful reviews. I appreciate every single one of them. So keep them coming. **

**And here is the chapter many of you have been clawing at walls for. Hope you enjoy it!**

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I sat on the end of my bed, staring at the shelf where the watch was. River had told me to open it when the time was right, but how was I to know when that time was? I didn't understand any of it. It was just a silly old watch, something that had always been there, it was just a watch.

I put my head in my hands, it was all getting a bit too much for me now. Like I didn't have enough to deal with already. We still didn't know what my stupid headaches were all about and now there was some cryptic message from some woman I didn't even know yet about a watch. And then there was the Doctor, the kiss. What the hell had that been all about?

"_Summer? Is everything okay? You don't seem to be quite yourself._" I knew I needed to talk about everything with someone, and now I knew exactly who to talk to.

"_No, everything is not okay. I thought the Daleks were bad, and then I met the Angels. Then everything seemed to get that little bit worse._" I let out a sigh. It wasn't even easy to talk to the TARDIS about it.

"_I'm always here if you want to talk. Amy has gone to bed, she finally told the Doctor she was running away from Rory, her fiancé._" I couldn't help but smile. I knew there was something more going on with her. I knew there had been a guy, I just didn't know about the whole getting married thing. "_The Doctor is worried about you._"

I finally pulled my head up. "_He worries too much._" I looked back up at the shelf where the watch was sitting. "_Tell me, how could a fob watch change things to the point where the whole universe could collapse?_" I asked.

"_It depends on the watch and the person it belongs to. You have a fob watch, why don't you look at it?_"

I pushed myself off the bed and tip toed over to the shelf. I don't know why I tip toed, I guess I was slightly afraid. I looked at the watch, just sitting there on the shelf. It just looked like a normal watch to me.

"_Pick it up._" The TARDIS told me.

I slowly reached my hand out towards the shelf and I started shaking. I quickly draw my hand back and took a deep breath. Why was I so afraid of a ridicules watch? I tried again and slowly my fingers touched the cold metal of the watch. I eventually picked it up and turned it over in my hand.

"_The Time Lords of Gallifrey. The brightest Star._"

I gasped and dropped the watch. "What the hell was that!" I shouted. I had heard a voice in my head, and I knew for certain it was the TARDIS.

"_Summer, don't be afraid. Pick up the watch._" That voice was the TARDIS. I bent down, my hand reaching out for the watch again. My hand was shaking badly, and I couldn't stop it. "_Don't be afraid._"

"_The only Star in the Starless sky._" It was that voice again. "_Time is wrong. Time needs healing._"

I stared at the watch, the voice I could hear, it was coming from the watch. The longer I held it, the more it spoke to me. I was hypnotised by it. It was more than just a watch, it was something more, something special.

I had been so focused on the watch that I had failed to notice the hammering at my door.

"Summer? Summer, what's going on? Are you okay in there?" It was the Doctor, he was right outside, trying to get in. The door was locked, but I didn't remember locking it.

"Summer, open the door. Don't do anything, just open the door." He called to me.

"What's in the watch, Doctor?" I asked him, kneeling on the floor with the watch in my hand still. "Tell me. I know that you know something."

"A Time Lord can make themselves human using a chameleon arch. Their Time Lord essence is basically stored in the watch." He was talking quickly, he was starting to worry. "Summer, what are you doing in there? Please, just let me in."

"There's a watch, Doctor. An old fob watch. I never really paid much attention to it before, I just assumed it belonged to one of my grandfathers or something. It's so old, and the design on it is like nothing I have ever seen before." I kept turning it over and over in my hand.

"Summer, whatever you do, do not open it!" The Doctor shouted.

"Doctor? What's going on? What's all the shouting for?" Amy was there now as well. That was good, she would distract him. That would give me enough time to decide what to do.

"Amy, go back to your room, or go to the console room. Just go, get out of here." The Doctor ordered her. I heard them continue to argue outside.

"_Now is the time. Open the watch. Reality is collapsing, open the watch._"

I closed my eyes and put my thumb on the clasp at the top. I took a deep breath and then pushed down.

_I couldn't see anything, it was all just, nothing. I couldn't feel anything around me either, there was just, emptiness. All I knew was that I could hear screaming. I felt someone clamp their arms around my waist and try to pull me backwards. I started kicking and screaming but they were just too strong, I couldn't get out of their grasp._

"_What are you doing? Let me go!" I screamed, trying to get away from the person holding my waist. _

"_Stop screaming or they will hear you." The person holding me whispered. "I'm getting you out of here and sending you somewhere safe. You're my only child, I will not let you die in a place like this."_

"_Mum?" There was silence. "I'm not going anywhere, he's still out there somewhere and I am going to find him, no matter what." _

"_No, you're not. He's gone. He left this planet years ago and you know that. Now stop being so stubborn." She hissed in my ear before dragging me off. _

"_What are we doing in here? Where are we going?" I watched as my mother moved around the control unit in the centre of the room. _

"_Please, forgive me for this, but it's the only way." She was crying._

"_Tell me what's going on!" I demanded, still trying to understand. I felt like I was going to start crying soon. _

"_This is the only way to keep you safe, I'm sorry. Just remember that I love you." She kissed me on the head. The next thing I knew, pain was soaring through my body. Everything was hurting so much and I couldn't bare it._

_All I could feel was the pain. Apart from my screams all I could hear was my mother crying in the background. The tears were streaming down my face as a golden light shone all around me. _

_Everything I was, the person who I had become, was being ripped out of me. All my memories, everything I knew. All the deaths I had seen, the people I had lost and mourned for. It was all being pulled out of my head, and it hurt. _

_He wasn't there. He said he would always be there to protect me, he promised he would never leave me but he did. He was gone and now I was going to lose everything. _

"Oh God! Make it stop!" I cried. I was remembering, Remembering everything that I had been forced to forget.

_He was playing with my hair. He was always doing that when we were out in the fields and away from everyone else. I rolled over onto my side and looked at him. _

"_Are you really planning on going?" I asked him. I didn't want to him to go, and he knew that. _

"_Yes. But you know you can always come with me." His face was serious, but we had had the same conversation so many times before. "I want you to come with me."_

"_I can't. You know I can't. I want to, I really do, but I can't." The tears were building in my eyes now. _

"_I'll come back for you. I promise. And I always keep my promises." He stopped playing with my hair and gently ran his hand across my face. "I'll always come back for my Star."_

"No, stop. I don't want to know. I don't want to remember!" I cried. My head was pounding and the tears were streaming down my face.

"Summer! You have to let me in!" The Doctor called through the door. "You don't understand, we need to talk about this."

I ignored the Doctor's pleas. It wasn't that hard as I was too busy trying to block out the pain coursing through my body and the memories that were flooding my mind. The pain was getting too much for me to bare.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling and I finally managed to open my eyes. Everything seemed so different and yet exactly the same. I looked down at the chain hanging around my neck and grabbed hold of the pendant hang on the end. "Please, make it stop. Just make it stop." I screamed.

I heard the Doctor still arguing with Amy, she was refusing to go anywhere. Then I heard what I thought was an explosion. I looked around and saw the door was burning away and the wall was scorched.

The Doctor came charging into the room and over to me. "I am never doing that again." I mumbled before collapsing into a heap on the floor.

I could still hear the Doctor and Amy talking.

"Doctor, what just happened? Is Summer okay?" Amy asked. Her voice was full of concern.

"She's not Summer anymore. Well, she is, but she isn't." The Doctor told her.

"What do you mean? Who is she then?"

"I don't know. Her mind is completely closed off, I can't find out anything." There was silence for a few moments before I felt someone picking me off the floor. "Who ever she is, she's pretty powerful. And that can be dangerous, especially since I have no idea who she is."

He placed me down on my bed. I felt his hand against my head, it was there for less then a second before he whisked it away. "She's burning up. Amy, go get me a cold cloth." I heard soft footsteps go towards where my bathroom was. "I know your still conscious." He whispered to me softly. "So tell me who you really are."

"Where would be the fun in that?" I mumbled quietly.

"I'm not playing games." The Doctor told me harshly. "Tell me who you are, right now."

"Right now, I'm still trying to work that out for myself." I groaned as a sharp pain soared across my head. "Can you make it stop, Doctor?"

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do for the pain right now." He said softly. "Just go to sleep, Summer."

I woke up sharply when I landed on the floor. I looked around me and realised that I had rolled out of the bed. Letting out a sigh I pushed myself off the floor and stood in front of the large mirror in my room.

"Okay, so what's the damage then…" I mumbled as I looked at myself. My golden brown hair was falling over my shoulders and down my back. "Could have been worse I guess. Oh well, it will do." I spun around and headed into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower and sat on the edge of the bath, my head in my hands. The tears had already started again. I needed to get rid of them all before I went out there, I was not going to waste any more tears on anyone.

I quickly finished in the shower and grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe. Jeans, vest top and a baggy black and grey striped jumped. I pulled out the black boots I had worn before and started to get dressed.

I couldn't help but think about everything that had happened. I had opened the watch, I had all my memories back, but that also meant that all the pain was back as well. Everything was going to change now, life was going to be that little bit more unkind for me.

I knew that I had to go and face the Doctor, but I was dreading it. I was absolutely petrified. My mental barriers were up, he wasn't able to hear me in his mind, and he was able to creep into mine. I had even blocked the TARDIS out, I didn't want anything distracting me from my own thoughts.

I stood there staring at the door for what felt like hours. It had been repaired, and you never would have known it had been burnt to ash not so long ago. Even the walls were looking perfectly new. I knew I couldn't really put it off any longer, I had to go and face the consequences.

I slowly opened the door and look around the corridor, no one was around. I stepped out and closed the door as quietly as I could behind me before walking slowly towards the console room. The closer I got to the console room, the more my chest pounded. It was bad enough having to cope with one heart pounding but having two made it just that little bit more unsettling.

I could see the light spilling in from the console at the end of the corridor. And I could hear Amy and the Doctor talking.

"So, have you worked out who she is yet then Doctor?" Amy asked. She was being her cheerful self.

"No. And I want you to stay away from her until I have worked it all out. You saw what she done to that door last night, she's dangerous." The Doctor told Amy firmly. I felt something catch in the back of my throat, Amy was being told to stay away from me. Amy was my friend.

"Oh, come on, Doctor. She can't really be that bad."

"Listen to me, Amy. I have made a lot of enemies in my life, some of them were my own people. I've already had one survivor of the Time War try to destroy me. She could be just the same." I just stood there, my eyes wide. Someone else had survived?

"Oh, come on, Doctor. This is Summer, do you really think she could be a bad person? I mean look at all the things she has done already." Amy was doing well to defend me, and I couldn't help but smile at that.

"Yeah? The Master was actually a good person when he was hiding as a human. Then as soon as he opened the watch, he turned back into who he was before." I froze. The Master. That was one name I never thought I would hear again.

"I don't believe you, Doctor. I'm sorry, but I can't see her being your enemy." Amy was almost shouting at him now.

"Amy, you don't understand. That woman is already dangerous, and you need to understand that. You stay away from her unless I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?" I felt a tear slip down my cheek but I was quick to wipe it away.

Amy let out a sigh. "Fine." I could tell by her tone that she didn't want to agree to it but what else could she do. "I'm going to make some tea. I take it you want some as well?"

"Tea would be lovely, off you go then Amy." The Doctor said as he bounced around the console.

I ducked out of the way as Amy came towards where I was hiding. I was lucky, she didn't see me. Once she was gone I took a deep breath and stepped out from my hiding place and into the console room.

The Doctor didn't seem to notice me. I cleared my throat and he finally looked over at me. The look he was giving me made me want to turn away and cry. He was glaring at me, his eyes were full of fire.

I took a deep breath, it was time to get it all over with. "Okay, you don't want me here. I know that, and that's fine. So just take me somewhere and drop me off and you will never have to see me ever again."

"Who are you? You're being very secretive and not letting me in. I don't know who you are so you need to tell me." He was trying to be calm but I could tell from his tone that he was angry. He was probably also confused as well, he had no idea who I was.

"I'm no one. No one at all. I'm not out to get you, I'm not like the Master. I remember you from back home, but I can forget about you if you want." My hands were shaking. I was constantly playing with them, I was nervous.

"I just want you to tell me who you are." I couldn't look at him. If I looked at him then I would probably lose control.

"Maybe it's better if you don't know who I am. Maybe it's better if you just forget about me."

"Tell me who you are!" He shouted, taking a step closer to me. I backed away a little, he was definitely angry now.

"No." I finally managed to whisper.

He charged towards me and grabbed hold of my shoulders tightly. "Tell me who you are!" He spat, shaking me a little.

I was struggling to breath, I hated it when he got angry, and he was angry with me. It scared me. "I don't want to." I managed to say.

"Tell me, right now. Who are you?" He was still shouting and shaking me.

I could feel my eyes filling up with tears. "I… I won't. I don't want to. Please, just let me go."

"I won't let you go until you tell me who you are."

I struggled to get away from him but he was holding on tightly. It was hurting. "Please…"

"Who are you?" He shouted again. I couldn't take it anymore, he was just getting more and more angry.

I closed my eyes as tight as I could. "Please, you're hurting me. Just let me go." He didn't. He kept holding my shoulders tightly. I couldn't take it anymore, I was going to have to tell him.

"Make this easy for yourself, tell me who you are." He didn't shout this time, but I could tell by his tone that he was still angry. The fury of a Time Lord is something best avoided.

"And then what? I tell you who I am and then what are you going to do? There's a reason I don't want to tell you so just accept that and let me go." It was my turn to start shouting now. I could feel the energy burning within me, if he didn't let me go soon, it was going to be more than the fury of a Time Lord making an appearance.

He slammed me back into the wall he had me up against. "Who are you?" He spat again.

"Theta you're hurting me!" I cried. "Let me go." I felt the tears roll down my face and his grip on me relaxed a little.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly before backing away from me. I slid down the wall and rested my head in my hands. After a while I pulled my head up and looked straight into the Doctor's eyes. "Why don't you want to tell me who you are?" He finally asked.

"Because if I tell you, it will just drag up bad memories. For both of us. It's better if it's just left alone. Just take me somewhere, anywhere, and leave me there. Please." I asked him softly.

"You know who I am, do I know who you are?" I just nodded at him. "Then why won't you tell me?"

I pushed myself up off the floor and wrapped my arms around myself. "It's difficult. Thing's have changed, you know that. We knew each other a long time ago. Longer for you than it has been for me."

The Doctor let out a sigh. "Why are you being so difficult? Why can't you just tell me?"

"I'm not being difficult. I'm trying to make this as painless as possible for you. You've had to suffer so much already. I don't want to add to that." My voice was getting louder now. Part of me wanted to tell him, but I really didn't want to see him hurt anymore.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of you!" I shouted. "I'm afraid of losing you again. I can't do that anymore. I just won't!" I kept my eyes locked onto his the whole time.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a step closer to me again.

"You always promised to come back for me, but you didn't. You left me there. You left me alone. You have no idea what I went through once you left." I was screaming at him now. I could feel my skin starting to burn, the energy that had been building was getting too much now.

I watched as his eyes widened. "No… there was only one person I left behind. And I did go back for her, but she was gone."

My gaze hardened, I could feel my eyes burning now as well. "Are you sure about that?"

"You can't be…"

"Why can't I? Tell me why I can't be her?" I glanced down at my hands and saw they were already glowing a mix of orange and red.

"Because she died. In the first days of the Time War, she died. If she were still alive, I'd know. We were…"

"Bonded, ever since the Academy. But no one ever knew, until closer to the Time War." I clenched my fists and trying to control the energy that was trying to overcome me.

He stepped closer to me again so that he was standing right in front of me. He took both of my hands and looked at them, they were still glowing but not as much now. "I should have known, I should have seen it. The Latin, the threatening to give me hell. It is you, isn't it?" His voice was calm and soft now.

I nodded at him. I hadn't had to tell him, he had worked it out himself. But just because he knew who I was, it wasn't going to make things any easier. "I'm Star." I said quietly.

He dropped my hands and put his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. "Oh, Star. I'm so, so sorry." I buried my head against his chest. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because I thought it would be better if you didn't know. I heard what you were telling Amy, you told her I was dangerous and you know that's true." I told him quietly.

He pushed me away a little to look into my eyes. "That doesn't matter. None of that matters. But I want you to tell me what happened. Something happened when I left, I need you to tell me." He tucked some of my hair that had fallen over my face behind my ear.

I didn't know if I wanted to tell him. I hated to think about it, and remembering it had hurt so much. "I can't. Not yet at least. For you, the Time War was a long time ago now, but for me…"

He looked at me, there was that sadness in his eyes. "What regeneration are you up to?" He finally asked.

"This is number 5. I'm still getting used to it." I told him quietly. This was the first time I had been myself in that body.

"Still getting used to it?" He questioned. But then it dawned on him. "The chameleon arch made you regenerate."

I nodded at him. "Yeah, that's why we have bigger problems then me getting used to this body." I told him as I pulled the chain out from under my jumper. "The link isn't working. I can't control it yet, and the power is stronger than before."

I saw a smile on his face as he looked at the glass pendant filled with cogs and springs hanging at the end of the chain. "I remember when we made that. The night before…"

"The night before you left. Parts of the TARDIS. That's why she brought you to me when I needed you. Even as a human she still knew it was me."

"We can fix it, you just need to focus. You done it earlier, I saw you. The energy was spilling out but you controlled it. You just have to keep doing that, directed it, re-establish the link." He was being so calm. "Star, why are you keeping yourself closed off?"

I pulled away from him and walked over to the console. "Because I'm scared."

The Doctor followed me. "Why are you scared?"

I let out a sigh. "Because the bond has been broken for such a long time. So much has happened. I don't know if I can handle that just now." I turned to face him, I knew how much it was hurting him, knowing I was there but not having the bond, it was hurting me as well. "I need time to sort my head out. I want to tell you what happened before you see it."

He nodded at me. He understood how bonding again would instantly connect our minds and our memories. We would see everything each other had done, know everything that had happened. There were some things I would rather tell him.

"When ever you're ready. I'm here, and I am always going to be here." He gently tugged at my hand and pulled me back towards him. "See, I was right." He said as he kissed the top of my head.

I pulled back a frowned at him. "Right about what?"

He just smiled at me. "I knew there was something special about you." I shook my head at him. Maybe things weren't going to be too bad after all.

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A/N: Well, what did do you guys think? I've been a little apprehensive over this chapter, but I hope that you all enjoyed it.

Now, reviews are wonderful things, so keep them coming! I love them all.

So how much do you think Summer/Star is going to change now? Has life in the TARDIS just gotten that little bit more complicated?

Pippa


	11. Adjusting to Life

**Disclaimer: Still working on it. Honest, I am!**

**A/N: A huge thank you to all you lovely readers, reviews and followers/favourites. Makes me smile when I see them all. Remember to keep reviewing!**

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I sat in the chair by the console only half awake. The Doctor had gone off to tell Amy about what had happened, and that everything was fine. I was feeling exhausted, and kept getting shooting pains in my back. He had pushed me pretty hard against the wall, but I knew he didn't mean it. He had been angry and confused at the time, the Oncoming Storm.

I was trying to gather my thoughts and sort out all the memories that had came back to me. It was difficult to keep it all in order and not get emotional. If I was to get angry or upset then the energy would flare and being around me would be dangerous. That's why I needed to work on the link with the pendant.

I heard the Doctor and Amy come into the room and I slowly opened my eyes. The Doctor was carrying two mugs of tea and was beaming away. I smiled back at him, he was so happy.

"I thought you could do with this." He said as he handed me one of the mugs.

"Thanks." I said, as I took it from him and took a sip. I looked over at Amy and smiled at her. She seemed a little nervous. "It's okay, Amy. I'm not going to set fire to anything, at least not right now."

She smiled back at me and slowly walked over. "So, are you okay now? The Doctor told me that you're a Time Lord."

"Time Lady, technically. And yes, I'm fine. Or at least I will be once I've sorted a few things out. I'm sorry if what happened scared you. I scared myself as well." My eyes shifted from Amy to the Doctor. "Did you explain to her how I turned the door into ash?"

"No. I didn't know if you wanted to tell her yourself so I thought I would leave it."

I nodded at him and looked back at Amy. "My name is Star. I'm a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey. I'm one of the inspired, which is sometimes handy when you're running around with a madman with a box." The Doctor grinned at me. "The reason my name is Star is because I have the energy and power to burn like one. That's probably the best way of putting it."

Amy looked at me with wide eyes. "You can burn like a star?"

"Yeah, sort of, it's really complicated. Its not always fun. It can be slightly painful if I don't control it properly. Last night I couldn't control it and the energy that was burning inside of me ended up being directed at the door."

"Wait, so can you like, just set things on fire and stuff?" Amy asked, curious as ever.

"In a sense, yes. But it can be more powerful then that. I can take down whole armies, burn planets and blow up suns." I watched, and her eyes grew wider. "But it means that I can protect the people I care about. And when controlled correctly, I can do some pretty amazing things."

"Wow. The Doctor wasn't kidding when he said you were dangerous." Amy said before looking down at the ground. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

I just smiled at her. "Amy, it's okay, really." I assured her. "It's true. What I can do makes me dangerous, but only to those who cross me. I would never use it against my friends. So you're safe." I took another sip of my tea as Amy processed what I had just said. She looked back up at me and smiled.

"So you're Star, like he's the Doctor?" Amy nodded towards the Doctor, leaning against the console drinking his tea and smiling away.

"Yeah. Some stupid little boy when I was a kid started calling me that, and it kind of stuck. Guess that was my own fault really." I pulled my mug up to my face to cover the grin that was spreading across my face.

"Oi! I was not stupid. And besides, Star is a lovely name." The Doctor called out defensively.

Amy turned to him. "What, you were the little boy? How long have you guys known each other?"

"Since we were kids. He was 13 and I was 8. We met back at the Academy."

"So you're only 5 years younger than him?" I really did love Amy's curiosity, which was part of being human.

"Well, I used to be. He's got an extra hundred or so more than me now." I could see that Amy wanted me to continue explaining. "Long story, one that I haven't even told the Doctor yet so it's going to have to wait I'm afraid."

"Do I have to start calling you Star now? Because I think Summer is a brilliant name."

I paused to think about it for a moment. I was so used to being called Summer, and I had loved that name when I was human. "Well, since it's you, I'll let you call me Summer still."

"And what do I have to call you?" The Doctor asked.

"You have to call me Star. Just like I have to call you Doctor." I told him as I drained the rest of my tea.

"Anything else you want to tell Amy? Or is it my turn to talk about you?" The Doctor asked as he pushed himself away from the console.

"Depends on what you're going to tell her. I mean, I have plenty of stories about you I could tell. A few hundred years worth actually. You weren't exactly the most well behaved child at the Academy were you?" The Doctor pouted at me. Even without the bond established I knew what he was thinking.

"Yes, fine. You can tell her the rest when you're ready I suppose." He said sulkily. I laughed at little at the way he was acting, he never seemed to change much.

"Good. Now I'm sorry to bring the party to a close but I'm exhausted. It's been a slightly tiring few hours. I'm still adjusting to everything, again." I said as the Doctor took the mug from me and helped me up.

I went over to Amy and threw my arms around her. "See you in a few hours. And make sure he doesn't break anything." I said before she put her arms around me, hugging me back. I winced slightly as she touched my back.

"Course I will. I'm just glad you're better now. I was worried about you before." She said as she let me go.

"No need to worry about me. I made of the tough stuff." I said giving her the biggest smile I could manage. That got Amy to smile back at me. I looked over at the Doctor and noticed a concerned look on his face. "And you can stop worrying as well mister. Everything will be fine."

He came over to me and put an arm around my waist. "Still, let me walk you to your room." I rolled my eyes at him as he started directing me towards my room.

Neither of us spoke as we walked through the corridors. I just kept staring ahead while the Doctor kept glancing over at me every now and then. I looked at the door to my room, I couldn't help but smile when I saw the new name plates on there. 'Summer' was on there and written in English, and underneath was 'Star' in Gallifreyan.

The Doctor opened the door and gently pushed me into the room before following behind me and shutting the door. I went over and sat down on the edge of my bed and looked up at the Doctor. He had his worried face on, that was never good.

"Okay, out with it. What's wrong, Doctor?"

He didn't move from where he was standing, he jus carried on looking at me. "Show me your back."

"I'm sorry, what?" I was a little taken back, that wasn't exactly what I was expecting him to say.

"Please, just show me your back."

I studied him carefully, he was seriously worried about something. I stood up and pulled off my jumper, throwing it onto the bed, before turning around and pulling up my vest top so that he could see my back.

I heard him gasp. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Star." He said as I felt his fingers trace down my back. I flinched a few times, I had a feeling there was some bruising on my back.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I fell out of the bed this morning. Landed on the floor pretty hard." I said, trying to steer him away from thinking anything wrong with my back was his fault.

"No, Star. I did that to you. I need to pop to the medical bay to grab something. Wait here, I won't be long. I promise." He said before kissing the top of my head. I nodded at him and watched him go.

Once I was confident that he was gone I walked over to the mirror and pulled my top back up, looking over my shoulder to try and see why he was so freaked out. There were dark purple marks across the top of my back and on my shoulders. I had to admit, it really didn't look very good, but it was really only painful when someone was touching it.

"Oh, Doctor." I whispered to myself. I knew he was going to keep blaming himself for this one now. I didn't blame him, I could never blame him, not for anything. I could never even blame him for destroying our home planet. I knew what was happening, I knew what our people were becoming, and he had to do it.

I sat back down on the bed and let out a sigh. There was so much that the Doctor and I needed to talk about. He needed to understand why I didn't want to tell him who I was, he needed to understand everything that happened back home when he left.

I closed my eyes started rolling the pendant between my fingers. It was comforting for me, whenever I had been away from the Doctor I always had a part of the TARDIS with me. Then I realised, she was probably getting somewhat annoyed with me for blocking her out as well as the Doctor. I had many reasons for keeping the Doctor at arms length, but keeping her out was just asking for trouble.

I took a deep breath and slightly lowered my mental barriers. "_I'm sorry for shutting you out._" I said eventually.

"_I'm glad to have my little Star back._" She replied, making me smile.

"_Sorry about the door. I didn't really know what was happening at the time. Sorry._" I told her. I felt really bad about that still.

"_Don't worry about that. How are you feeling?_"

I let out a sigh. "_Tired. Confused. Slightly in pain._"

"_He is on his way back now. We both know he didn't mean to hurt you. You did make things difficult._"

"_I know, I know. I wasn't thinking straight. Everything is such a mess._" I put my head in my hands and let a few tears fall. I had a lot of built up emotion that I was struggling to deal with as well as everything else.

I didn't hear the Doctor come back into the room. I only realised that he was there when I felt him sit on the bed next to me and put his arm around my waist. I quickly wiped my eyes and smiled at him. "Got what you wanted?" My voice cracked a little as I spoke.

"Yes. You okay?" He asked me softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… trying to pull myself together." The Doctor just nodded at me.

"I've got something for your back. Lift your top back up so I can, um…" I noticed him blush a little.

I rolled my eyes at him and pulled my top back up and shifted around a little so that he could reach my back. He started to gently rub some cream into my back. His touch was so soft and gentle but I still flinched several times, and each time he apologised. Straight away my skin started to tingle a little.

"There, that should do it. Shouldn't be as bad now." I pulled my top back down and turned back to face him.

"Thanks. It's not your fault you know. I know you didn't mean to hurt me." I said as I took hold of his hand. I knew he was being hard on himself because of it all.

"But I still hurt you. How can you forgive me just like that for hurting you?"

I let out a sigh. Now it was his turn to be difficult. "Because you're you. And I know you, and you didn't mean to hurt me. You were angry, I was being stubborn, we've had worse fights." I told him, gently squeezing his hand. "Will it make you feel better if I tell you that you can still call me Summer as well?"

He frowned at me. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because Summer is a brilliant name. Like Amy said. And I liked being Summer, I spent a long time on Earth being her. Okay, so some of it wasn't all that great but when I was growing up, those people really did care for me and love me. I think I want to stick to that name for a while longer, in their memory."

The Doctor nodded at me. "Summer. Okay, I think I can manage that." I saw a small smile creep across his face. "Do you remember how you ended up on Earth in the first place?"

I nodded at him. "Yeah. It wasn't my choice actually. My mother, she was the one who done it. She… found me and put me in the chameleon arch."

"But why did you regenerate? It's not very common for that to happen. Unless…"

"I was in a pretty bad state when she found me. My body couldn't cope and I regenerated, and thanks to the chameleon arch I ended up being a human baby." I could remember everything, my whole life as a human from the first day. "She took me to Earth, left me in a human hospital and then went back to fight in the war."

"She kept you safe." He told me in a matter of fact way.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes before the Doctor asked the question I was hoping to avoid answering. "Where did she find you?"

I couldn't look at him. If I told him now he was just going to keep asking more and more questions. I didn't know if I was ready to do that yet. "If I tell you, then you have to promise you won't ask any more questions. You have to promise to wait until I'm ready to tell you the rest. Okay?"

"I promise." He whispered to me.

I took a deep breath. "The Void Cavern."

"What?" I could tell by his tone that he was not only shocked but worried as well. I just nodded at him. "But how? What happened? How did you end up in there?"

"You promised. No more questions." I said firmly. I really didn't feel like going into all the details. Not until I was more confident that I could control my emotions.

"I'm so sorry." He grabbed hold of me and held me tightly. I held onto him as well, I held on like my life depended on it.

"You need to stop saying that you're sorry. What's done is done. You couldn't have done anything." I told him softly. He was going to keep blaming himself now.

"You should get some rest." He said as he finally let go of me.

I nodded at him. "Yeah, I probably should." I didn't actually have any plans for actually resting. I had too much going on in my head to sleep.

"I'll come back and check on you in a few hours." The Doctor said as he jumped up off the bed.

"Okay, then we need to find out what's wrong with Amy." He frowned at me. "Oh, come on. Even when I was human I could sense that something was wrong. All those cracks through time and space, I can feel them. And it's all centred around Amelia Pond."

"You're brilliant." He said, pulling me off the bed. "My Summer Star." Then he kissed me. Not just a peck, a kiss that was deep and passionate. I felt both my hearts pounding in my chest as I kissed him back.

When we finally broke apart I frowned at him. "You're Summer Star?" I questioned, only just realising what he had called me.

He shrugged. "Well, you're Summer and Star. And you're also mine." I let out a little laugh, he was right, of course he was.

"I suppose that makes perfect sense. Anyway, off you go. Amy is probably getting bored by now." I told him as I pushed him towards the door.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes. Now get out so I can rest." I pushed him gently into the corridor.

"You sure you're all right?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course I am. Look, if something is wrong, she will let you know. We're talking again now, and even she called me difficult." He grinned at me before giving me a quick peck on the lips and heading off down the corridor and back to Amy.

I closed the door and sat with my legs crossed in the middle of the bed. I closed my eyes and started searching through my recently recovered memories. It was all a complete mess. Nothing was in the right order, and the most painful memories kept pushing their way to the front.

The first memories I knew I had to deal with were the ones from the Time War. Those were the freshest, and some of the most painful. Dealing with them was priority. I started pushing them to one side, then forcing them behind a door and locking it. I felt tears rolling down my cheek as I went, some memories were stronger than others.

_I stood there before Rassilon, Lord President. My arms were bound behind my back and I was being held rather tightly. _

"_My Lady Star, I'm so glad you decided to join us here today." _

"_Hmm, yeah. Because I really had a choice in that and you know how much I enjoy being threatened, tied up and dragged around like a criminal." I spat at Rassilon. _

"_Well, maybe we can come to some sort of agreement."_

"_Oh really? Now why would you want to make any kind of agreement with me? Actually, flip that. Why would I want to make any kind of agreement with you?" _

_He just smiled at me. "Because if you don't, then you're beloved bond will die." _

_That got my attention. "How did you know about that? We never told anyone." I asked quietly. _

_He kept on smiling, and that jut made me worry even more. "I am Rassilon, I don't need anyone to tell me what my own people are doing."_

"_Really? So you know where he is right now then?" I asked him, a smug grin on my face. If he knew where he was, then I would already be dead. _

"_That's what you are going to tell us." _

_I let out a rather loud laugh. "Oh, yeah right. I'm really going to do that aren't I?" _

"_If you don't want him to die, then you will." _

_I put on my best 'serious' face. "I tell you where he is, and he doesn't die?" Rassilon smiled and nodded at me. "If I don't tell you where he is, he dies?" He nodded at me again. "Okay."_

_He smiled grew wider. "Where is the Lord Doctor?" _

"_Not here." I said before smiling and breaking what was holding my wrists together. "You showed me how to use my power, that was a big mistake Rassilon." I said before setting the exit I was backing away to on fire. _

_I could see him getting angry. "Stop her!" He cried. _

_I turned and ran towards the flames, I knew I could get through them, I knew I would be safe. Only I didn't make it that far. I felt pain soaring through my back and crashed to the floor. _

"_You have defied me too many times Lady Star. Throw her in the Void Cavern. Let her die in there."_

My eyes flew open and I saw the Doctor staring at me. There was that stupid concerned and worried look on his face again.

"Forgotten how to knock?" I asked, frowning at him.

"I did knock. You've been in here for 12 hours. I wanted to check that you were all right." I looked at him sitting on the end of the bed facing me. It didn't feel like I had been sitting there for 12 hours. If anything it felt like I may have been only an hour.

"Well, as you can see I am perfectly fine." I told him as I uncrossed my legs and clambered over to where he was.

He picked up the pendant that was hanging around my neck and held it up. "You've been working on this, haven't you?" I looked at it and saw that it was starting to glow a little.

"Um, I guess I must have. I don't really remember. I thought I was clearing my head…" I tried to think back to what I had been doing. All I can remember is sitting there sorting through my memories.

"The link will have been building while you were doing that." I just nodded at him. He was probably right.

"So, where's Amy? Have you left her on her own again?"

"She's gone to her room actually, said she wanted a bath. Did you get any sleep earlier?" I shook my head at him. I had never planned on sleeping. "Are you going to try now?" I shook my head again. I wasn't tired anymore, not really. Sorting things out had helped me a little, like meditation. "Come on then." He stood up and pulled me off the bed.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as he started leading me through the corridors. He had his arm around my waist again.

"Time to eat." He said as he opened the door to the kitchen.

"Fair enough." I pulled away from him and pulled a chair over to the counter and stood on it. I opened the cupboard at the top and reached in and pulled out a few bananas.

"Oi! That's my secret stash!" The Doctor called to me.

I threw one of the bananas at him and he gingerly caught it. "Nothing is a secret from me. Remember that." I said as I jumped off the chair and sat down on it. I wasted no time in getting through 3 bananas.

"Finished?" He asked as I threw the last banana peal over to the bin.

I thought for a moment. "No, actually. Oh, I know! Fish fingers and custard!" I cried. I dashed over to the freezer and pulled out a box of fish fingers. "You want some?" His face just lit up and a huge grin took over his face. "I'll take that as a yes then."

A little while later we were sitting there dipping our fish fingers into a large bowl of home made custard.

"Oh, I've missed your cooking. Real custard, not that tinned or powdered stuff. Real, proper custard." The Doctor said, beaming away and enjoying his meal.

"I never used to cook that much. You never stayed still long enough for me to cook for you. And when we were travelling, you always insisted on eating out somewhere." I said as I dipped another finger into the bowl.

"You used to bake when you got bored." He pointed out.

"Okay, that's true. But that's baking, not cooking. Making a meal is different to making cakes and cookies."

He picked up the last fish finger and dipped in it the custard before offering it to me. I took a bite of it, a rather big bite actually. The Doctor looked at how much I had left him, it was a very small bite.

"Well that wasn't very nice of you was it." He grumbled as he looked at the now empty plate. We had managed to get through a whole box fish fingers, although the Doctor did eat most of them.

I couldn't help but giggle a little at the pouty face he was pulling. "Will a cake cheer you up? Decorated with edible ball bearings?"

"Yes." He answered quickly.

"Come on then, you can help me. I want flour, eggs, sugar, butter and some milk to start. Off you go." I watched him as he started collecting the ingredients from around the kitchen as I got out the large mixing bowl and the spoon.

The Doctor kept trying to stick his finger in the cake mix like a little child. "Right, you do that again and you are going to seriously regret it." I warned him.

He held his hands up in defence and helped me to pour the mixture into the cake tins and cases. I put everything in the oven and turned around to see the Doctor with his fingers in the bowl, wiping it clean.

"Oi! I warned you, now you're in some serious trouble." I said as I marched over to him. He quickly put his hands behind his back, trying to make out he hadn't done anything.

"But your cakes are always so good, I couldn't help it." He whined. I smiled at him, if he wanted to act like a child then I would do just the same.

"Sorry, Doctor, but I did warn you." I said before cracking an egg over his head. I couldn't stop laughing.

The next thing I knew my face was covered in flour. The war had begun. Eggs and flour went flying everywhere. We were both covered and the kitchen was a complete mess. I had one last weapon to use against the Doctor.

"Okay, Doctor, you're all out of ammo. Do you surrender?"

"I never surrender." He shouted from behind the upturned table he was using as cover.

"You are so going to regret that." I told him as I slowly stepped towards the table. "I'm giving you one last chance, surrender now or suffer the cleaning on your own."

"Ha! Not likely." He called.

I shrugged. "You asked for it." I said before concentrating on the table. I watched as the table slowly turned to ash. It didn't burst into flames, it just quickly turned into a pile of ash. I looked at the Doctor crouched on the floor, staring at me. "I did warn you." I said before holding out 2 cans of squirty cream and spraying it all over him.

I laughed as he tried to protect himself with his hands, but it was far from working. He was covered in egg, flour, cream and sugar strand sprinkles.

"Okay, okay! I surrender!" He cried when I had him cornered. I kept advancing on him. "No, I surrender. No more!"

I sprayed him one last time just for good measure. "You still have to clean this lot up on your own." He didn't get a chance to protest, the timer on the oven started going off. I tossed the cans over towards the bin, they were pretty much empty now.

I opened the oven door and the smell of the cakes filled the room. The Doctor came over and helped me get all of them out and find somewhere on the side to put them. "I suppose we better start cleaning up now." I said as I surveyed the damage from the battle. There wasn't anywhere that wasn't cover in something.

"Nah, leave it for now. We can do it later."

I looked over at him. "Really? That's not like you. You feeling all right?"

He smiled at me. "I'm fine. Great, actually." The next thing I knew he had grabbed hold of me and was making sure to get as much cream and some of everything else all over me. He deliberately wiped cream in my head.

"That is so not fair!" I cried, struggling to get away from him.

"Neither was burning my favourite table." He retorted. I had to agree, that probably was a little bit unfair.

"I'll get you a new one." I said as I finally managed to turn around in his arms to face him.

He didn't say anything to that, he just leaned in closer and kissed me, again. I reached up and put my arms around his neck, as he pulled my body closer to him. I could feel his hearts beating just as fast as mine.

"Ehem…" We quickly broke apart and turned to see Amy standing in the doorway. Both of us blushed furiously. "Not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I quickly started patting the Doctor down, trying to make it look like I was cleaning the mess off him. The Doctor caught on and started to the same.

"Oh, very nice cover up." Amy said as she walked into the room. "So what exactly did I miss?" She was looking at the mess that covered every part of the room, including the ceiling.

"We made cakes." I told her as I pointed to the cakes that were cooling down on the side.

"And that resulted in a war I'm guessing?" The Doctor and I both nodded at her. "Wasn't there a table in here before?"

"Oh, um yeah. There was. I owe the Doctor a new table." I saw Amy's eyes grow wide. "He wouldn't surrender, so I destroyed his hiding place."

Amy just shook her head. "Remind me to never play hide and seek with you."

"Never mind hide and seek. I think we need to go and get cleaned up and then go and meet the soon to be Mr Pond!" The Doctor called, before slipping on some egg on the floor and landing on his backside.

"Maybe we should get cleaned up in here first. Don't want you to fall over again." I said as I helped him up. He shook his head at me and threw me a cloth to get started with. "Want to help, Amy? There's cake at the end if you do."

The three if us got busy cleaning up the kitchen. The Doctor kept moaning about his table even after I kept promising to get him a new one. He insisted that it was an antique, so I had to remind him that we were in a time machine.

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**A/N: And there it is. I hope you all liked it. Let me know, review! **

**Okay, the episodes from now on are going to be uploaded in 2 parts. It may mean he chapters are shorter, but i should be uploading more often because of it. **

**Next we get Rory! Yay! I wonder how he is going to take to Summer?**

**Remember to review, you lovely, lovely people!**

**Pippa**


	12. The Vampires of Venice Pt1

**Disclaimer: I know, boring ridicules disclaimers. I own Summer, that's about it. Sorry. **

**A/N: Okay you wonderful, lovely, amazingly fantastic people! I've started splitting the chapters up a little. So this episode is in 2 parts. Also, I'm having a rotten time writing a certain episode at the moment, and working on a silly assignment for uni. **

**So, enjoy this, and remember to review. **

* * *

Amy and I were hanging around the console, waiting for the Doctor to come back with Rory. He had insisted on going and crashing his stag party to get him. I had warned him that it was a bad idea and offered to go with him, but he was determined to do it on his own.

"Come on then, you know about me and Rory, what's with you and the Doctor?"

I looked at Amy and let out a sigh. "It's difficult to explain. When we were kids we were best friends, then it became more than that. We have a special connection, a bond. Basically our minds and souls are connected. I guess in human terms were soul mates, married, that kind of thing."

I noticed her eyes widen. "Seriously?" I nodded at her. "I… err… I tried to kiss him."

I let out a little laugh. "Yeah, I know. He told me. It's okay, Amy. Everyone who ever meets him loves him in some way."

"Do you love him?"

To say I was a little surprised by her question was putting it mildly. "With all my hearts. But right now, we aren't bonded. That was broken when… something happened to me. And right now, I'm not ready to fix it."

Amy came and stood next to me. "Why not?"

"A lot of things have happened, for both of us, since the bond was broken. When we're bonded again, everything that we have 'missed' from the others life will just be poured into our head. Pretty much. I've only just remembered who I am, and there are things I need to tell him. Stuff has happened to me, Amy, bad stuff. And I want to tell him before he sees it, I want him to be prepared for it."

"So this, bond, what else does it do?" Amy asked.

"Everything one feels, the other feels. We're literally connected, our minds, any physical pain, we're bound together. The only way a bond can be truly broken is if one of us dies. And even then, the end result isn't pleasant." I could see how interested Amy was. "If the Doctor were to die, then I my world would just fall apart. I wouldn't be able to carry on any more."

She stood there with her mouth hanging open. "But, the Doctor already thought you were dead because the bond was broken. Why didn't he…"

I knew what she was getting at. "When the bond was broken, it wasn't through death, it was through interference. I wasn't dead, so it couldn't be truly broken, but we were cut off from each other. He just came to the conclusion that I had died, but he's the Doctor, he carries on."

"So, if he died, you'd fall apart, but if you died, he'd carry on?" I nodded at her. That pretty much summed the Doctor up. "That's awful."

I shrugged. "It's something we have to deal with. We knew what we letting ourselves in for when we realised that we were bonds."

We stayed there in silence for a while. It wasn't awkward, I was wandering around the console, she was so different to when I last piloted her.

"Summer?" I turned around and looked at Amy.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember everything from when you were human?" I nodded at her. Sometimes people didn't remember, but I did. "Well, when you were human, I noticed the way the Doctor was with you. He was really protective and it was like there was something more there, but he didn't know what."

"Yeah, I had noticed that as well. There were a lot of my old traits bleeding through when I was human. The Doctor actually picked up on them but dismissed it rather quickly. I think if he had seen my necklace he would have worked it out straight away, since we both made it together."

I held it in my hand and showed it to her. It was glowing a little brighter than before now, the link was slowly growing. "Why is it glowing?" Amy asked as she held it.

"Because I'm slowly regaining control over everything. With this, I'm linked to the TARDIS, and she helps me. Also, the Doctor knows how to calm me down but this is the best control I can have. It's made from parts of this TARDIS."

"So you're connected to the TARDIS?" I nodded at her. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't get the chance as the Doctor came charging in with Rory behind him.

"Amy, you're fiancé I believe." The Doctor called as he bounced over to me at the console. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. I just rolled my eyes at him and sent us off to the vortex.

I watched the Doctor wander down the steps and under the glass floor. He plonked himself in a swing seat and put on his wielding goggles.

"Oi, you better not be fixing something that isn't broken. You upset my girl and I promise I will give you hell." I called down to him.

"Hush you." He said, flashing me a cheeky smile. "Oh, the life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important." He looked over at me with a sad smile. I knew what he was thinking. "I've seen it devour relationships and plans." Something sparked and the TARDIS shook a little. "It's meant to do that." He said as I gave him a warning glare. "Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. So, I'm…"

I cleared my throat loudly. "Try that again." I called down to him.

"We're sending you somewhere, together."

Amy had been walking around nervously. She stopped when she heard the Doctor's words. "Whoa. What, like a date?"

"Anywhere you want. Any time you want." The Doctor said, coming back up to the main platform.

"One condition. It has to be amazing. I always demand amazing, especially for my friends." I told Amy with a smile.

"The Moulin Rouge in 1890. The first Olympic games. Think of it as a wedding present." The Doctor told her as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Because it's either this or tokens." I looked over at Rory and noticed how awestruck he seemed. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?"

The Doctor dragged me with him over to Rory. "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that all about? Let me explain…" The Doctor said.

"It's another dimension." Rory said before the Doctor had a chance. I let a smile creep across my face.

"It's basically another dimension… what?" The Doctor just looked at Rory, stunned.

"After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universe…"

"I like the bit when someone says it's bigger on the inside. I always look forward to that." The Doctor said, disappointment evident in his voice. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"So, this date. I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?" Amy called over. I sent her a silent thank you for changing the topic before the Doctor had a tantrum.

"How about somewhere romantic?" The Doctor asked as he darted around the console, leaving me standing with Rory.

"Doctor, you don't know what romantic even means." I called to him, earning myself a frown and a pout. "Aw, look at you trying to be all adorable. Shame I'm immune to it."

Rory at me in confusion. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Summer. Nice to meet you Rory Williams. Heard a lot about you actually." I held out a hand and he hesitantly shook it. I smiled at him before running around the console after the Doctor. "Tell you what, I have the perfect place." I pushed the Doctor out of the way and pulled the lever. Everyone held on tightly, everyone except me.

Once we had landed I was the first to the door. "Come on then." I pulled open the door and leaned on the side as the others came out. "Venice." I told them as the Doctor closed the door.

"Venezia. Impossible city. Preposterous city." The Doctor carried on rambling about the history of Venice. "Ah, you got to love Venice. So many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova…'

"Um, what year is it again, Doctor?" I asked nervously.

He checked his watch. "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for another 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I owe him a little more then that."

The Doctor quickly grabbed my hand and spun me around so I was facing him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, keep you're bow tie on. It's not what you're thinking. And if you remember you're the one who left me with him that day." I told him firmly. We had a bit of an argument that day and Casanova decided to start flirting with me. I couldn't resist flirting back, even though I knew his reputation. That just made the Doctor even more annoyed.

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked in bewilderment.

"Long story. They had a bet, the Doctor lost." I told him, keeping my eyes locked to the Doctor's.

"And what do you owe him exactly?" The Doctor asked. I could tell he was getting annoyed now. He could get so jealous at times.

"I owe him a dance." I told him. "Oh, I'll explain later. Come on." I dragged him with me as we carried on walking away from the TARDIS.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection." A man asked us as we went to walk past him.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a black wallet. "There you go, fellow. All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

"I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realise." The man said, bowing to the Doctor. I couldn't help but giggle a little.

"No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens. Visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them." The man replied to the Doctor.

"Oh, that's nice. See where you bring me? The plague." Amy said, lightly whacking my arm. I gave her a look that told her I was sorry.

"Don't worry, Viscountess. No, we're under quarantine here. No one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri."

"How interesting. I heard the plague died out years ago." My mind was working overtime now. The plague shouldn't still be around by that time.

"Not out there, Your Highness. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she now." The Doctor said as the man moved on to someone else.

Rory took the wallet from the Doctor and looked at it. "Er, according to this, I am your eunuch."

"Oh yeah. I'll explain later." Amy said, trying to wave off Rory's comment.

I walked along next to the Doctor, taking hold of his hand. "Feeling guilty about something?" I asked him quietly. He just looked at me blankly. "Your Highness? Seriously?"

I noticed him blushing slightly. "Oh, that. First thing that came to mind."

I grinned at him. "Oh, of course."

I dragged him with me over to the side of the canal and looked at the water below. Amy and Rory were close behind us. We watched as a group of girls walked out of the building directly opposite us. It seemed like a lot of the locals were watching as well.

The thing that struck me as odd was the man who was shouting for his daughter, and the reaction from the girls towards the man.

The next thing I knew the Doctor was dragging me by the hand to cut off the man we had just seen trying to find his daughter. We eventually caught up with him in an alleyway.

"Who are those girls?" The Doctor asked, keeping a tight grip on my hand.

"I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri School." The man said.

The Doctor smiled at him. "Our first day here. It's okay. Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion."

"So why are you trying to get her out?" I finished.

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognise me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face… like an animal."

"I think it's time I met this Signora Calvierri."

I tugged at the Doctor's arm. "Not without me you don't." I told him sternly. He rolled his eyes at me and groaned. "Or I'm willing to just disappear, never to return. What's it going to be?"

"That is not funny. Don't you ever say anything like that again, ever." He half shouted to me. I saw how upset that had made him.

"Sorry." I said quietly, looking down at the floor.

He put his free hand under my chin and lifted my head. "Sorry for shouting at you." He said before kissing me quickly on the lip.

We followed the man, Guido, towards the entrance to the building. He distracted the guard, leaving us to sneak around the side and into the house. The Doctor took the lead down a stone staircase when he stopped at the bottom and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Hello, handsome." He said to himself as he adjusted his bow tie. I looked behind him and tugged on his sleeve.

"Who are you?" A group of girls said.

The Doctor spun around and then looked back at the mirror. "How are you doing that? I am loving it. You're like Houdini, only 5 slightly scary girls, and he was short. Will be shorter."

"You're rambling." I warned him. I wasn't exactly feeling comfortable with the situation.

"I'll ask you again, signor, singora. Who are you?" The girls said, all at once.

The Doctor pulled a wallet out of his pocket. "Why don't you check this out?"

I shook my head and pulled it out of his hand and showed it to him. "Library card." I told him.

"Of course, it's with… he's… I need a spare."

"I'll put it on you're Christmas list."

"Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen. Ha. Are you thinking what I think I'm thinking?" The Doctor asked, I just shook my head. "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless…"

"Leave now, or we shall call for the Steward, if you are lucky."

"Ooh." He pushed me back towards the stairs as the girls bared their sharp teeth and moved towards us. "Tell us the whole plan." They kept advancing on us. "One day that will work."

"No it won't." I mumbled.

"Listen, we would love to stay here. This whole thing. I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas."

"Yeah, for you maybe. Come on!" I grabbed hold of his hand and we ran back up the stairs and out of the house.

We made our way back to where we had left Amy and Rory, Amy was running towards us.

"Doctor! Summer!" Amy called.

"We just met some vampires." The Doctor told Amy as he reached her.

"We just saw a vampire!" Amy cried.

"Not vampires." I mumbled.

"And creepy girls and everything." The Doctor said, ignoring my comment.

"We think we just saw a vampire." Rory said as he finally caught up. He was panting and out of breath.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Amy was just telling us." The Doctor said, waving Rory off.

I pulled myself away from the Doctor and went over to Rory. "Don't worry about it, he's always like this. Was it a guy or a girl, the one you saw?"

"Um, it was a bloke." Rory told me.

"Hmm, 5 girls and a guy so far. Interesting." Contrary to what the Doctor was thinking, my senses were telling me they were not vampires.

"Come and meet our new friend." I heard the Doctor say before he dragged me off with him, leaving Amy and Rory to follow.

We ended up at Guido's home. It was small, but nice. Guido spread out a map on the table and began telling us about the place the Doctor wanted to get back into.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in. The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor." He told us.

"You need someone on the inside." Amy said.

I looked from the map and at Amy. "No." I said, the same time as the Doctor.

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Amy protested.

"That we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in." The Doctor explained.

"Oh, so you do know what I was going to say." Amy said a little deflated. I just looked at her, her idea wasn't actually a bad one, I had been thinking the same thing.

"Are you insane?" Rory finally decided to speak up. He didn't like the idea of his fiancé putting herself in danger.

Amy looked over at him sitting on some barrels. "We don't have another option."

"They said no, Amy. Listen to them."

"There is another option." Guido said as he pointed towards the barrels. "I work at the arsenal. We build warships for the navy."

I walked over with the Doctor to the barrels. "Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationery from where they work." I said.

"Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosives. Beside, if I wanted something blown up I'd just ask Summer." The Doctor said as he came to stand next to me back by the table where the map was. I elbowed him sharply in the side for his comment. I was not there to blow things up on his command.

"What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?" Guido was getting angry and frustrated, he wanted his daughter back.

"I'll be there 3, 4 hours, tops." Amy said confidently.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." I watched as the Doctor ran his hand through his hair.

I took a deep breath before turning to face everyone else. "I'll go."

The Doctor just looked at me, I could see the panic in his eyes. "No, no way. Not a chance."

"I can look after myself. Like you have already pointed out." I felt a flare of energy as I spoke. "It's me or Amy, what would you prefer?"

I saw him tense up, I was really pushing him now. "You both go, and look out for each other. We go together, say you're my daughters."

"Your daughters? You look about 9." Amy retorted. I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. There was no chance we could get away with that.

"Brother then." The Doctor suggested.

"Too weird. You can be my fiancé." Amy said grinning away.

I glared at her. "Amy, don't push it." She must have seen the fire in my eyes, as she couldn't look at me for more than a second.

"No, you're right, sorry. Besides, they've already seen the Doctor, and haven't they seen you as well, Summer?" Amy didn't know where to look as she spoke.

"I can fix that." I said before staring at the Doctor's eyes and grinning away. I felt some of the energy that had been building release. I watched the Doctor's smile turn into a frown.

"Why does everyone get to be ginger but me?" He moaned as he came over and started playing with my now rather red hair.

"How did you do that?" Amy asked curiously.

"Easy, used some of the energy that was building, directed it towards my hair, and voila. Ginger. Tell you what, if the Doctor wasn't so mad about being ginger himself, it may have taken longer to do it." I could help but keep grinning at him. I knew it would annoy him, that's why I had to do it.

"Rory, you need to take us. You're going to have to be our brother."

"This whole thing is mental. They're vampires, for God's sake." Rory complained.

"We hope." The Doctor said has he finally stopped playing with my hair.

"So if they're not vampires?"

"Which they're not." I pointed out. The Doctor just stared at me. "What? They aren't vampires, I'm just still trying to work out what they are."

"Yeah, but it makes you wonder what could be so bad that it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire." He finally said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "You be careful in there. Understand?"

I saluted at him. "Sir, yes sir!" I said, earning myself a frown. "It will be fine. As you can see I'm starting to get control over everything more. I was slightly worried I was going to just burn all my hair off. That really would have been bad."

The Doctor laughed at me. "Look after yourself, and look after Amy." He hugged me tightly and gave me a quick kiss before letting me go and get changed with Amy.

It wasn't long before we were standing in the throne room before Rosanna Calvierri and her son Francesco. I made sure to keep my head down slightly, just in case I was recognised.

"So, basically, both of our parents are dead from getting the plague. I'm a gondola driver, so money's a bit tight. So having my sisters go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers." Rory said nervously. I had to give the man some credit, he had done well.

Francesco walked towards us. I didn't like the way that he was looking at Amy.

"I've just got one of those faces." Rory said.

"I wasn't talking to you." Francesco replied before walking around Amy. I had to control myself, I was getting worried about Amy, if that was the 'vampire' they saw earlier, then it was highly possible he recognised her.

"She's got the same face, which is because she's my sister."

"Carlo, explain yourself. Why have you brought me this imbecile?" Rosanna asked the man standing over to the side.

"Signora, they have references from His Majesty the King of Sweeden." Carlo replied.

"What? Let me see." She held her hand out as Rory approached her and gave her the psychic paper.

Rosanna smiled. "Well, now I see what got my Steward so excited. What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?" From the look on the woman's face, I knew something was seriously wrong.

"Oh, I do, mother. I do."

Rosanna smiled even more. "Then we would be delighted to accept them. Say goodbye to your sisters."

Carlo started to push Rory away and to the door.

"Tell uncle that we'll see you both really soon, okay?" I called to Rory as he went. "We'll be fine."

Once he was gone I took hold of Amy's hand as we were led up to a dormitory. The room was large and grand.

"There are clothes on the bed. Get change and wait here." Carlo instructed before leaving us alone.

"Blimey. This is private education, then?" Amy said as she looked around the room.

I watched as all the other girls left the room. All but one. I had a feeling that she was Guido's daughter. "Hello, I'm Summer and this is Amy. You must be Isabella?" The girl nodded at me. "Listen, we're going to get you out of here. But first, I really need to know what's going on. Can you tell me what they do here?"

Isabella hesitated for a moment, I knew she was frightened. "They, er, they come at night. They gather around my bed, and they take me to a room with this green light and a chair with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"What happens in there?" Amy asked, sitting on the bed next to the girl.

She shook her head. "I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

"I promise you, we will get you out of here." Isabella nodded at me. "Okay, Amy, we have a job to do. To the cellar!" I grabbed hold of her hand and we sneaked out of the room and down some stone steps.

Amy was carrying a candle in a lamp, but I made sure to walk ahead. It didn't take us long to make it to the cellar and find the trap door that the Doctor wanted opened.

"Come on then, Amy. Let's get this done. Something is seriously wrong here and you are in so much danger." I told her as I pulled the bolt on the trap door, leaving it unlocked.

"What, and your not?"

I looked at her. "Amy, if something happens to me, it's no big deal. But you, you have a man who loves you. I promised Rory and the Doctor that I would keep you safe, that I would look after you, that is what I intend to do."

I turned around to head back to the dorm, taking Amy with me. She screamed and dropped the lamp as we came face to face with Carlo and a few of the girls.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, we seem to have gotten a little bit lost." I said as innocently as I could. Unfortunately that didn't work and we were both grabbed and dragged back through some corridors.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed it. I really do like Rory, not looking forward to having to write him dying so much. But anyway, I hope you liked it, drop me a review. Offer me your first born (LostCurrency, we need to step it up a gear now, how about second born son as well?), tell me how I'm making you claw at the walls (LostCurrency, again). **

**I've got a few tricks up my sleeve's, and some surprises in the pipes. Now if you're all very, very good I may drop a few hints. Nothing too spolierish. **

**What are you waiting for, my lovely readers? Review!**

**Pippa.**


	13. The Vampires of Venice Pt2

**Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.**

**A/N: You people are magnificent. Did you know that? Of course you knew! I must now apologise for not posting this soon. I uploaded it, then became distracted with my assignment for uni. Please forgive me!**

**Anyway, thank you all for the amazing reviews, keep them coming! I love you all!**

* * *

Amy was kicking and making a fuss. We were led into a strange room with an eerie green light.

"Psychic paper. Did you really think that would work on me?" Rosanna asked, as the green light got just a little brighter to reveal her standing there in front of us. I didn't say a word, and neither did Amy. I knew I needed to find out more before getting too involved.

"Where are you from? Did you fall through the Chasm?" Rosanna asked, circling the pair of us.

"Mother this is pointless. Let's just start the process and…"

"Hold your tongue, Francesco. I need to know what these girls are doing in a world of savages with psychic paper. Who are you with? You see, I scarcely believe your idiot brother sent you. What are you doing in my school?"

I watched as a chair was dragged forward by some of the girls. "Okay, I'll tell you. I'm from Ofsted." Amy said, making Rosanna laugh. I just shook my head.

"Put her in the chair." Rosanna said, nodding at Amy. "Keep the other one restrained." Francesco was only too happy to oblige and not only grabbed me but threw me against the wall. My vision blurred for a moment.

"You are so going to regret that." I mumbled before passing out.

I can't have been out for long, only a few minutes. I heard Rosanna talking to Amy.  
"This is how it works. First, we drink you until you're dry. Then we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream now faded."

"Or you die. That can happen." Francesco added.

"And if I survive?" Amy asked. I could see she was scared, but I already knew what I was going to do.

Rosanna smiled at her. "Then there are ten thousand husbands waiting for you in the water."

"Excuse me, but she's already engaged." I called, getting everyone's attention. My eye's quickly scanned over Rosanna until I found what I was looking for. "Ha! Perception filter!" I cried. I focused my eyes on where it was, knowing that I could damage it with the energy, and watched as Rosanna flickered between human and what looked like some kind of mutated lobster. "Told you that you would regret knocking me out." I said smugly.

"Oh! Rory, come on!" I heard the Doctor cry from outside. Rosanna, her son and the steward all ran out of the room. "Cab for Summer Richards and Amy Pond?" I heard the Doctor call from the corridor outside.

I quickly got on my feet and went to help Amy get out of the chair. Isabella was there as well, undoing the straps on the other side. As soon as Amy was free we charged out into the corridor.

"Rory!" Amy cried as she saw her fiancé.

He quickly grabbed hold of her. I looked and saw the Doctor fighting off some of the girls with a UV light.

"Quickly, through here." Isabella called, leading us through the house.

We ran down some stone stairs. "They're not vampires." Amy called as we ran.

"What?" The Doctor asked in confusion as he turned around to ward off some of the girls who were following us.

"We saw them. We saw her. They're not vampires. They're aliens, like I have been trying to say the whole time. Come on." I said grabbing the Doctor's arm.

He chuckled a little. "Classic."

"That's good news? What is wrong with you people?" Rory asked as we continued to run.

"Oh, Rory. Where do you want me to start?" I asked before being pushed forwards by the Doctor.

"Come on, move!" The Doctor said as Francesco started to gain on us.

We kept on going until Isabella let us to a door and made sure we all got out before her. I turned and saw her, cowering from the sunlight. I charged up the few steps to help her, but the Doctor pulled me back and darted past me. As soon as the door closed, I felt electricity flow through him and he fell down.

"Is he dead?" Amy asked.

I just rolled my eyes. "Nah, he's alive." I told her as I sat on the step next to the unconscious Doctor. "Give him a minute and he will be right back with us. Otherwise he knows what I will do to him."

I took hold of his hand and entangled my fingers with his. A moment later the Doctor started to stir. As soon as his eyes opened they were gazing straight at me. "Oh, hello." He said blinking several times.

I couldn't help but smile at him. "Hi. Shall we get out of here now then?" He quickly pulled himself up and took me with him. "Okay, now Doctor, you need to listen to me. Not only are they not vampires, but I know what they are."

He looked at me, stunned. "Really? How?"

I just rolled my eyes. "Because I pay attention. Inspired, remember? Plus all the power of a star."

"Right, fair enough. I think it's time we had a proper chat with Rosanna Calvierri, don't you?"

I smiled at him. "I thought you'd never ask. Amy, Rory, go back with Guido. We won't be long."

The Doctor and I walked hand in hand back into the house. "You okay?" He asked me as we walked.

"Course I am. Why do you even ask?"

He stopped in his tracks, forcing me to stop as well. I turned to look at him, knowing that he had something he wanted to say and that I had to listen to him. "I worry about you." He had his serious face on.

"You worry too much." I said to him, trying to give him a reassuring smile.

"I'm entitled to worry. There's so much you're not telling me. That isn't like you at all."

I let out a sigh. "We are not doing this now. Yeah, there are things I'm not telling you, we both know that. And we both know there is a reason why I am not telling you. Now move." I gave his arm a tugged and forced him to start walking again. Something told me that we would be carrying on our conversation later.

We wandered into the throne room and I was quick to plonk myself down on the throne in the room. The Doctor started laughing at me as I swung my legs over one of the arms and made myself comfortable. He stood himself to the side, leaning against the chair.

"Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you, Sister of the Water?" I said as Rosanna walked into the room.

"No, let me guess. The owner of the psychic paper?" She said, looking from me to the Doctor. I just pointed a thumb back at the Doctor. "Then I take it you're refuges, like me?'

"I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer. You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but it manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank, hence no reflection." The Doctor said, rambling on a little.

"Your question?"

I grinned at her. "Why can we see your big teeth?" I asked her, not moving from the chair.

Rosanna let out a little laugh. "Self preservation overrides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."

The Doctor's face hardened. "Where's Isabella?"

"My turn. Where are you from?" Rosanna said as she carried on pacing around slightly.

"Gallifrey." We replied at the same time.

I saw her eyes widen. "You should be in a museum. Or in a mausoleum."

"Why are you here?" The Doctor asked, taking a step away from me and the chair.

"We ran from the Silence. Why are you here?"

"Wedding present." I said casually.

"The Silence?" The Doctor asked. I knew he wanted to ask the questions so I let him get on with it.

"There were cracks. Some were tiny. Some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people, and through others we saw Silence and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours, and the crack snapped shut behind us. Saturnyne was lost."

"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark Two?"

"And you can both help me. We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?" I could see the hope in Rosanna's eyes.

I swung my legs back over ad stood up. "Where's Isabella?" I asked her firmly.

"Isabella?"

"The young woman who helped me and my friend get out." The Doctor quickly grabbed hold of my hand as I took a step closer to the woman. I knew I was getting angry, I could feel the energy.

"Oh, deserters must be executed. Any general will tell you that. I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership. Any which way you choose."

I felt the Doctor's grip tighten. "I don't think that's such a good idea, do you? I'm a Time Lord, you're a big fish. And besides, I'm taken." I looked at him and grinned.

Rosanna called for Carlo. "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while you philosophise."

I stared at her, she was trying my patience. "This ends today. I will tear down the House of Calvierre, stone by stone."

Carlo grabbed hold of one of my arms and one of the Doctor's. I tried to pull it away but he just gripped tighter. "Get your hands off her." The Doctor yelled.

I ignored that he was trying to pull me out of the room. "And do you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name. You didn't know her name."

I turned away from her and walked out, finally managing to pull my arm from Carlo. Once we were outside of the gates we started heading towards Guido's home. We walked hand in hand, not saying a word.

As soon as we were there I rushed to go and get back into my own clothes again. The Doctor checked out the holes that had been made in Amy's neck and he told her she was fine.

"Argh. I need to think. Come on, brain. Think, think, think!" The Doctor was getting frustrated again. He was sitting at the head of the table, trying to unravel Rosanna's full plan.

"If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun." Amy said, trying to help.

"Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush." The Doctor said, putting a hand over Amy's mouth to stop her from talking.

"It's the school thing I don't understand." Rory added.

"Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush." The Doctor said before covering Rory's mouth just as he had done with Amy.

"I say we take the fight to them." Guido decided.

"Ah, ah, ah." The Doctor nodded at Rory and he put his hand over the mouth of the man sitting beside him.

I carried on wandering around the room while the Doctor talking about how Rosanna ended up there. "They come from the sea. They can't survive forever on land, she what's she going to do? Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable."

I looked over at him. "She said, I shall bend the heavens to save my race."

"Bend the heavens. Bend the heavens." The Doctor confirmed, making Amy and Rory nod their heads as he moved his hands that had been covering their mouths.

Then it dawned on me. "She's going to sink Venice." Guido just had to repeat what I had, clearly he didn't believe what I had just said.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed." The Doctor informed him. I went and stood behind him, knowing that there was more still to be uncovered.

"You can't repopulate somewhere with just woman. You need blokes." Rory pointed out.

"Yes, and she has them." I said, earning a confused look from the Doctor. "In the canal. She said there are ten thousand husbands waiting in the water. My guess is only the male offspring survived the journey here."

"She's got ten thousand children swimming around the canals, waiting for mum to make them some compatible girlfriends." I watched as he pulled a sour face. "Urgh. I mean, I've been around a bit a bit, but really that's…" I whacked him around the back of the head, getting him to shut up.

I looked over at Guido as I listened to some thumping noises. "The people upstairs are very noisy."

His eyes widened. "There aren't any people upstairs."

"Do you know, I knew you were going to say that. Did anyone else know he was going to say that?" The Doctor said, making me roll my eyes at him. "Well, apart from Summer, obviously."

"Is it the vampires?" Rory asked.

"Like I said, they're not vampires."

The Doctor smiled and pulled out his UV lamp. "Fish from space." Suddenly the girls from the school broke down the door and smashed through the window.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Rory asked curiously.

The Doctor quickly jumped up and rushed to the window the girls were trying to get in through. He waved the UV light in front of them, getting them to back away a little before he pulled out his screwdriver and scanned them. "There's nothing left of them. They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so…"

I stepped up behind the Doctor and whacked him around the back of the head. "Stop eyeing up the fish and move, everyone. Get out."

Everyone was quick to run down the stairs and out of the house. I turned and waited for Guido, only to see him closing the door and staying inside. "Guido! What are you doing? Get out of there. Please."

The Doctor realised what had happened and tried to open the door with his screwdriver. The door was bolted from the inside, it was useless. The Doctor and I kept hammering on the door, trying to get Guido to open up. Then I was being dragged away from the building by the Doctor. We didn't get very far as an explosion from the house knocked us both off our feet.

I opened my eyes to find I was face down on the floor. I tried to get up but something was keeping me down, putting pressure on my back. I let out a slight groan as the weight shifted and I rolled over onto my back.

The first thing I saw was the Doctor's face. His worry lines were showing again. "Summer, are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked, leaning over me a little more.

"I don't think having you laying across my back has really helped. But I think I'll manage." I told him as I started to push myself off the ground. His hands were quickly around my waist and he was helping me get steady on my feet.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, giving me the once over with the sonic screwdriver.

I snatched it out of his hand. "Yes. I am fine. And how many times do I have to tell you not to wave that thing in my face?"

I saw a smiled creep across his face. "Yes. You're fine." His kissed my forehead before tugging the screwdriver back out of my hand. He turned back and looked at Guido's house, the smoke billowing out from it.

"I could have done that. I should have done that, he didn't need to die." I whispered. It would have been easy for me to blow up the house without having to be inside.

"I know." The Doctor said quietly, wrapping an arm around me. I rested my head against him. "Rosanna's initiating the final phase." We heard people screaming in the distance.

"We need to stop her. Come on." Amy went to move but soon stopped when the Doctor walked over to her, taking me with him.

"No, no, no. Get back to the TARDIS."

"You can't stop her on your own." Amy protested.

I looked at her. "He's not on his own."

The Doctor smiled at me before turning back to Amy. "We don't discuss this. I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it." He told her angrily.

I watched as Amy ran off, tears in her eyes. Rory looked from her to the Doctor. "Thank you." He said, before running after her.

"You're welcome." The Doctor said quietly. "Come on, we need to stop her." He said before tugging me with him towards the house.

"What was all that about with Amy?" I asked as I finally kept up with his pace.

"Nothing. It was nothing."

I frowned at him. "It was the same thing I told her really wasn't it. Rory doesn't want her to get hurt. You're protecting her." He nodded a little.

It wasn't long until we were back in the throne room, inspecting the back of the throne.

"You're too late. Such determination, just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same man that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash. Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom." Rosanna said, stepping up behind us.

"The girls have gone Rosanna." I told her sadly.

She looked at me in disbelief. "You're lying."

"Shouldn't we be dead, hmm? Rosanna, please, help me. There are two hundred thousand people in this city." The Doctor pleaded.

"So save them." She replied before walking away.

"Right, we will. Come on then Doctor, let's do this." I said enthusiastically. So many lives depended on us managing to stop Rosanna, history depended on it as well.

We rushed around, trying to work out how to stop it when Amy and Rory came rushing in. "Get out. We need to stabilise the storm." The Doctor said, charging past them and dragging me along with him.

"We're not leaving you." Rory told him confidently.

I shook my head and carried on working on the chair as the Doctor went over to have a few word with Rory. "Right, so one minutes it's all you make people a danger to themselves, and the next it's we're not leaving you. But if one of you gets squashed or blow up or eaten, who gets the…"

We all fell to the floor as the whole building started to shake. "What was that?" Rory asked.

"Nothing. Bit of an earthquake." I said as the Doctor helped me to get back on my feet.

"An earthquake?"

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them." I said as the Doctor once again tried to check me over with the sonic screwdriver. I glared at him and he quickly got the message.

"No?"

"No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake." I finished.

"Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub but she's locked the programme, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything. We need it to shut down and re-route control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator." The Doctor said, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, can I do it? I mean, destroy the throne? Please? Pretty please?" I asked the Doctor, pouting.

He looked at me and laughed. "Course you can, like I said, go crazy. Back in a bit." He said before kissing the top of my head and disappearing.

"Amy, Rory, I suggest you stand back, way back. As far behind me as you can. Oh, this is going to be interesting." The pair quickly got behind me and I looked at the throne. I tilted my head slightly as several of the wires began to spark before the whole chair erupted into flames.

I turned to Amy and Rory, a smile on my face. "Well, that wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be." Rory stood there, wide eyes and horrified where as Amy was grinning away. "Oh, um, yeah. Sorry Rory, I can blow things up at will."

"You can blow thing up?" He asked me, still in shock.

"Amongst other things. Oh, I'll explain later. Come on." I grabbed hold of their hands as I ran past them and outside. We looked up and saw the Doctor right at the top of the bell tower.

"There he is. Come on, Doctor!" I shouted, watching him.

The three of us stood there, waiting. A moment later the rain that was coming down heavily stopped and the sky became clear again. We all jumped and cheered with joy as did the people around us. I ran back inside to meet him.

As soon as I saw him I threw my arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. I felt him put his arms around me and return the embrace. "Come on, we need to find Rosanna." I told him as I pulled away from him and he took my hand.

We found her by the canal, standing there in a plain white dress. "Rosanna!" I called, as she stepped closer to the plank reaching over the canal.

"One city to save an entire species. Was that too much to ask?"

"I told you, you can't go back and change time. You mourn, but you live. We know, Rosanna. We did it." The Doctor said, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Tell me, Doctor. Can your conscience carry the weight of another dead race? Remember us. Dream of us." She said before stepping off the plank and into the water below.

"No!" We both cried at the same time, rushing forward a little.

"Rosanna…" I whispered, as a single tear fell down my face. Too many people had died, too many people had suffered.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around me. "There's nothing we could have done to stop her. I'm sorry." I nodded at him before burying my head in his chest.

We walked in silence back to where Amy and Rory were waiting for us, then headed back to the TARDIS.

"Now then, what about you two, eh? Next stop Leadworth registry office. Maybe I can give you away." The Doctor said cheerfully.

Rory let out a sigh. "It's fine. Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've…"

"Stay. With us. Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay." Amy said to him, taking hold of his hands.

"Fine with me, Summer?" The Doctor turned to me.

"Don't see why not."

"Yeah? Yes, I would like that." Rory said happily.

"Nice one. I will pop the kettle on. Hey, look at this. Got my spaceship, got my girl and I got my boys. My work here is done." Amy said before disappearing into the TARDIS.

"Er, we are not her boys." Rory said to the Doctor and I as we stood there, taking one last look around Venice.

"You are, Rory. You are definitely Amy's boy." I told him as I went to step inside the TARDIS.

"Yeah, and I am definitely not." The Doctor said, pulling me back so that I fell against his chest. I rolled my eyes at him and playfully whack his arm that was around me.

I froze as everything went quiet. "Wait, listen to that." I said, not moving.

"Er, what? All I can hear is silence." Rory said before stepping into the TARDIS.

"Exactly." I said quietly before the Doctor pushed me inside and followed behind me.

I sat down as I watched the Doctor bounce around the console and send us into the vortex. It wasn't long before Amy was back bringing tea for us all. I gave her a smile as she handed me one.

"So where we off to next then, Doctor?" I called to him as he leaned against the console, sipping his tea.

"No idea yet. But Amy need's to give Rory the tour of this place at some point." I could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to talk to me alone.

"Okay, well I think I'm going to head back to my room for a bit, if we aren't off somewhere straight away." The Doctor nodded at me and I dragged myself out of the chair and past Amy and Rory. "Oh, don't forget to give Rory some of the cake." I called back as I started down the corridor.

I climbed onto my bed and curled up on top of the covers. It didn't take long for the Doctor to catch up to me and knock on my door. I didn't move from where I was, I just waved my hand towards the door and it clicked open.

He lay down on the bed facing me, a false smile on his face. "What's wrong?" He asked me as he tucked away a stray lock of hair that had fallen over my face.

I let out a sigh. "Why do you always insist on there being something wrong?"

"Star, I know you well enough. I know there is a lot on your mind and I just wish you would tell me."

"Exactly, you know I have a lot to sort out. And I want to do that before I tell you. I will tell you, I promise I will, but you can't rush me into it." I told him as my hand played with his.

"Do you know what was causing your headaches?" I nodded at him. The headaches were caused by the energy that was building. But because I was human, and knew nothing about it, I didn't know what to do about it and neither did my body.

"And the nightmares, those were my memories seeping through." I told him. He wouldn't have been able to work that out because I had never told him about them, and I had yet to tell him what had happened.

"I guessed that might have been the case since you're still not telling me." I kept my eyes locked on his. No matter how many times he changed, there was still something in his eyes that pulled me in.

"Do you know how much trouble I caused back home after you left?"

The Doctor frowned at me. "What do you mean? What kind of trouble?"

"Oh, you know. Terrorising the high council, severely annoying the president. Do you know how many times I tried to steal a TARDIS? None of them would let me leave." I could see the curiousness in his eyes now. "Apparently I was needed on Gallifrey."

"I'm sorry. I should have been there, I should have come back." He said quietly. I knew he meant every word he was saying, but it wasn't going to change things.

"You need to stop saying that. I eventually found out the reason why I needed to stay behind." I could see he was waiting for me to explain it to him so more. "By staying behind I was able to, shall we say, learn more about what I can do. I became stronger, more in control."

He frowned at me, again. "And that was a good thing?"

I let out a sigh. "Being more in control, yes. Being stronger, definitely not. That's when…" I felt a lump in my throat. I wasn't ready to tell him everything yet. It was still too raw, too painful.

The Doctor seemed to sense that I was struggling to carry on and pulled me closer to him. I rested my head against his chest and let out the breath I had been holding. "It's okay. I'm here now."

We stayed laying there, in silence for some time. He was playing with my hair, something that he had always done back home. "I still prefer your hair when it's that lovely golden brown. Even though ginger looks really nice, think I can get you to change it back?"

I laughed a little. The only regeneration where I didn't have my golden brown hair was the previous one. It had been jet black, and very long, my eyes had been an icy blue. A strange combination, yes, but the regeneration had been a difficult one because of how it had happened.

"You're just jealous because you're not ginger, aren't you?" I asked him, pulling away a little and looking at him again.

I saw him smiling at me. "Maybe a little. But you know I've always loved your natural hair colour." I shook my head at him and smiled. I felt a slightly tingling in my head and his smile grew wider. "Much better. I'd keep it how it is if I were you."

"Ever the charmer, aren't you?" I said as I rested my head back against him.

* * *

**A/N: Now, review and let me know what you think. **

**Up next, Amy's Choice. How will the Dream Lord deal with Summer? Oh the possibilities! **

**Keeping this note short and sweet today. Remember to review and maybe take a little glance at the other story I have up at the moment. Jumping Through Time. It's just a little something a friend and I discussed and then started. **

**Love to you all!**

**Pippa**


	14. Amy's Choice Pt1

**Disclaimer: Still the same. Unfortunately. One day, just maybe...**

**A/N: Sorry, sorry. I know I should have uploaded this a the other day, but University work got in the way. I'm sorry, I love you all. **

**So read, review, go on, you know you want to!**

* * *

I blinked several times to get my eyes to focus. I didn't remember falling asleep, or even getting changed into my pyjamas. I looked around the room, something was wrong, I could feel it, but I didn't know what it was.

"_Where's the Doctor?_" I asked the TARDIS, but she didn't reply. That was odd, she always spoke to me, always. She would never ignore me, unless something was seriously wrong.

I quickly got dressed and hurried along towards the console room. My mind was racing, there was something wrong, there had to be, and it was annoying me that I didn't know what it was. As soon as I got there I called for the Doctor before noticing that the door was slightly open.

I didn't head out straight away, I listened to the conversation going on outside.

"I've crushed your flowers." I heard the Doctor say. I wondered who he was talking to.

"Oh, Amy will kill you." Wait, was that Rory?

"Where is she?"

"She'll need a bit longer. Where's Summer?" Rory asked.

"Summer? Oh, yes, Summer." I frowned, had the Doctor just forgotten about me? I took that as my chance to step out.

"I'm right here, Rory." I ignored the Doctor as I walked over to Rory and gave him a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good, great actually." He said as he hugged me back.

"Whenever you're ready, Amy." The Doctor called. I pulled away from Rory and watched as Amy came out of the house. "Oh, way-hey! You've swallowed a planet."

"I'm pregnant." Amy said, smiling away.

"You're huge." The Doctor said, looking her over.

"Yeah, she's pregnant." I told him.

"Look at you. When worlds collide."

"Doctor, I'm pregnant." Amy told him again.

"Oh, look at you both. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit, apart from age and size." The Doctor said, giving Amy a hug. I started to feel a little awkward. I didn't even remember them leaving the TARDIS. There was a lot I seemed to be missing.

"Oh, it's good to see you, Doctor." Amy said happily before looking over at me. "Oh, and you as well, Summer." She said, a little less enthusiastically.

"Are you pregnant?" The Doctor asked her seriously.

Amy just shook her head and walked back into the house, the Doctor and Rory following behind her. Rory stopped at the front door and turned back to me. "Everything okay, Summer?"

I tried my hardest to smile at him. "Yeah, I'm just having an off day. Not been feeling too great recently. Don't worry about me." I walked towards the door and Rory carried on inside.

Knowing that the Doctor wouldn't be able to sit still Amy and Rory grabbed their coats and we were off for a walk. The Doctor was walking ahead with Amy on one side of him and Rory on the other. I kept a few paces behind, since stepping outside of the TARDIS, the Doctor had barely acknowledged me.

"Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever." The Doctor said as we walked passed the church.

"It's Upper Leadworth, actually. We've gone slightly upmarket." Rory pointed out.

"Where is everyone?" The Doctor wondered.

Amy glanced at him as we were walking. "This is busy. Okay, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90's."

"Well, don't let that get you down." The Doctor said, joining Amy who had sat herself down on a wooden bench.

"It's not getting me down."

"Well, I wanted to see how you were. You know me, I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pal the Doctor so easily." I watched as Rory sat down next to the Doctor. No one seemed to have even noticed me, it was like I wasn't even there.

I went and sat myself on the wall behind where the bench was. It was high up but I managed. Rory glanced over at me and gave me a smile, he was the only one who did seem to notice me.

"You came here by mistake, didn't you?" Amy asked him.

"Yeah, bit of a mistake. But look, what a result. Look at this bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next? So, what do you do around here to stave off the… you know…"

Amy offered the word 'boredom' while the Doctor opted for 'self harm'.

Rory looked at the Doctor and frowned. "We relax. We live. We listen to the birds."

"Yeah, see? Birds. Those are nice." I wasn't convinced by the way Amy was talking. Some thing told me she wasn't happy there.

I noticed the chirping of the birds started to get louder. "We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days, did we?" Rory commented.

I watched as the Doctor started to rub his head. Everyone seemed to be getting sleepy, including me. I kept trying to focus on listening to what the Doctor was saying. "Oh blimey, my heads a bit. Ooo. Er, no, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good old…"

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the console floor. That was strange.

"Days. What? No, yes, sorry, what?" I got myself off the floor and noticed Amy and Rory walk in. The first thing's I noticed was that Amy wasn't pregnant and that Rory no longer had a ponytail. "Oh, you're okay. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don't ask. You don't want to know. You're safe now." I watched him as he hugged Amy.

"_What just happened?_" There was silence. The TARDIS still wasn't talking to me. "_Please, talk to me. Something is wrong, very wrong. Help me out here, please._" I let out a sigh. I was going to have to deal with this on my own.

"Blimey. Never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console? Red flashing lights. I bet they mean something." The Doctor said as he darted around the console.

"Doctor?" I called, but got no response. "Doctor!" I shouted, finally getting him to turn and look at me.

He stared at me blankly, it was as if he couldn't see me. "Oh, um, hello. Er, Summer?" He was acting like he had forgotten about me again.

"You forgot about me didn't you?" I whispered, trying to hold back the tears. When we were in Leadworth, he didn't notice me, and even now, back in the TARDIS, he seemed to forget about me.

"No, course I didn't." He said as he walked towards me. "I never forget any of my friends." I backed away from him as he tried to hug me. "What's wrong?"

"What's my name?" I asked him, staring into his eyes.

"Summer. Summer Richards."

"No, what's my name?" I asked him again.

"Are you all right?" He asked, taking another step closer to me. "Summer?"

"What's my name? Come on, Doctor, what is my name?" I was fighting back the urge to hit him. "You don't even remember do you?"

"Star." We both looked over to Rory. "Your… erm… your name is Star."

I nodded and walked over to him. "Thanks, Rory. At least someone here remembers me." I gave him a quick hug before going and sitting on the stairs.

I listened to Amy and Rory talk about the dream that they had, Rory was the one who mentioned I had been visiting with the Doctor. Then they started questioning the Doctor about his nightmare and he admitted that we had all had the same dream.

"Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track or something. Forget it. We're back to reality now."

"Oh yeah. Course we are." I said, getting the Doctor's attention. "Because in reality you hardly even notice me. In reality you don't even remember my name. In reality you forget I exist."

"Summer, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. But everything is fine." The Doctor said, trying to reassure me.

"Really? If we're back to reality, how come I can still hear birds?"

Rory looked at me and nodded. He could hear them too. "Yeah, the same birds. The same ones we heard in the…" I felt my head spin a little, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

"Dream." I heard Rory say. My eyes shot open and I saw I had fallen off the wall. "Oh, sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS."

I pulled myself up off the floor and instantly felt a shooting pain in one of my ankles. I guess falling off the wall because I fell asleep must have caused me to hurt myself. Typical.

Rory looked over at Amy. "You had the same dream, didn't you?"

"Weren't we just saying the same thing?"

"Yeah, but you all thought this was the dream, didn't you?" I said, trying to ignore the shooting pain I was getting when I walked.

"I think so. Why do dreams have to fade to quickly?" Amy moaned.

Rory looked over at the Doctor, he was inspecting the ground and everything around. "Doctor, what is going on?"

"Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you've shown up again?" Amy asked as she approached the Doctor.

"Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear, or feel." The Doctor told them. I was still getting ignored, if I was so annoyed with the Doctor I might have bothered to help him out. But why should I when he acted like I was invisible.

"But we're awake now." Rory protested.

"Yeah? You thought you were awake on the TARDIS, too." I told them as I stood there with my arms folded across my chest.

"But we're home."

"Yeah, you're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, erm, Summer, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going to be a tricky one." I glared at the Doctor.

I suddenly woke up again in the TARDIS. I let out a sigh and pushed myself off the stairs and walked over to the console.

"Oh, this is bad. I don't like this." The Doctor cried as he kicked the console, hurting himself. "Argh. Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked, trying to be helpful.

I laughed. "He threw it in a supernova." The Doctor just glared at me, stopping my laughing immediately.

Amy looked at the Doctor. "You threw the manual in a supernova? Why?"

"Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I'm cross."

"Okay, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked.

"If we were dreaming about the future." I pointed out. I noticed the looks I was getting from everyone. "Sorry, ignore me. In fact, pretend I'm not here. Oh, wait, you've been doing that already."

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Rory, explain it to him. Since you're the only one that seems to know I'm alive."

He nodded at me. "Well, Doctor, you did forget that she was here. You couldn't remember her name, and you are acting like she doesn't exist." He turned to look at Amy. "Amy, you and Summer are meant to be friends, but you don't even look at her."

"Summer, I promise we will work this out. I don't know what's going on. I don't mean to forget you, I could never forget you." The Doctor said as he stood in front of me.

"You already did." I said quietly before turning away from him and sitting back down on the stairs. When I looked back up I saw the Doctor still standing there, a hurt look on his face.

"Doctor?" Amy called, bringing him back to his senses.

"Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true."

Rory just looked at him. "Okay, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"With a bow tie wearing alien." Amy added.

"So maybe what rings true isn't so simple." I mumbled.

"Valid point." The Doctor said before the TARDIS went dark. All the lights went out and everything went silent. "It's dead. We're in a dead time machine." Then the birds singing started up again. "Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real. I know it's real." Amy said, holding onto Rory. The birds got louder again and my eyes started to close.

I heard a buzzing noise and opened my eyes to find the Doctor crouched down beside me, waving his sonic screwdriver in my face. "How many times do I have to tell you…"

"Not to wave this thing in your face?" The Doctor said, smiling at me. "I really don't know what's going on but something is stopping me from noticing you properly and remembering you."

"Well whatever it is, it's doing the same thing to Amy, but not Rory." I told him as he helped me up. I gave a little cry as I put weight on my ankle and felt the pain again.

The Doctor frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"Twisted ankle. But never mind that. We have bigger thing's to deal with here." I told him as Amy and Rory started to wake up on the bench.

"So, you can feel pain?" He asked me. I nodded at him, I didn't dare tell him that I felt the same pain in my ankle when we were back in the TARDIS.

"Okay, this is the real one. Definitely this one. It's all solid." Amy said as she felt her stomach.

"It felt solid in the TARDIS too. You can't spot a dream while you're having it." The Doctor said before waving his hand in front of his face.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"He's looking for motion blur, pixilation." I explained as I watched Rory and Amy walk over to us.

"It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, thought."

I looked around us, trying my hardest to notice anything that just didn't seem right. An old lady came over and said hello to Rory, calling him doctor.

"Rory, you're a doctor?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. And unlike him, I've actually passed some exams." I couldn't help but grin.

"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting." The Doctor said, look hard at Rory.

"What is?"

"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream." I said, knowing where the Doctor was leading the conversation.

"It's Amy's dream too. Isn't it, Amy?" Rory asked his wife.

"Yes. Course it is, yeah." There was something about her reply that made me wonder if she was telling the truth.

Then the Doctor started talking about the old peoples home. "There's something here that doesn't make sense."

I let a smile spread across my face. "Let's go poke it with a stick." I suggested before heading off towards the building. The Doctor was quickly next to me, I wasn't able to move as fast as I had liked because of the pain but I was doing my best to ignore it.

As soon as we were inside the home I knew something was wrong. Everything just felt wrong and the people, there was something about them that wasn't right.

"Hello, Rory love." One of the old ladies said as we walked into a room where several old people were sitting.

"Hello, Mrs Poggit. How's your hip?" Rory asked.

"A bit stiff."

"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus…" I whacked the Doctor on the arm. He looked at me and I just glared at him. "No, you don't have that yet. Forget that." I shook my head at him and looked out of the window.

"Who's your friends? Junior doctors?" Mrs Poggit asked.

"Yes." Rory answer, making the Doctor frown at him.

"Can I borrow you? You're the size of my grandson." Mrs Poggit asked before making the Doctor try on the jumper she was knitting.

"Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out." He stopped and looked at the woman's eyes. "You're incredibly old, aren't you?" He said quietly. I was about to say something to him when the birdsong started up again and I felt my body getting heavy and my eyes were closing again. I slumped to the floor beside the window.

"Summer? Come on, wake up, Summer." I felt someone lightly shaking me.

I forced my eyes open and saw the Doctor looking at me. I quickly checked to see if he had his sonic in his hand but he didn't. I smiled back at him as he helped me up off the stairs.

"Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real. It's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?" Amy called as the Doctor ran around the room.

"It's bloody cold." Rory pointed out.

"The heating's off." I informed him, watching the Doctor closely.

"The heating's off?"

"Yeah. Put on a jumper. That's what I always do." The Doctor called back to him.

Rory then decided to apologise for Mrs Poggit. Claiming that she's a lovely lady. The Doctor was quick to tell him not to believe the nice old lady act.

"Everything's off. Sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something is overriding my controls." The Doctor complained. He was starting to get very worked up.

"Well, that took a while. Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie." We all looked and saw a short man wearing something similar to the Doctor standing behind him.

"Except you're not really the last are you? Not while she's still around." He said, nodding towards me.

"How did you get into my TARDIS? What are you?" The Doctor asked as he came to stand next to me.

"What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me…"

"The Dream Lord." We both said at the same time. The man's face fell a little. It was clear he hadn't liked that fact that I had named him.

"Nice look." I said sarcastically, my arms folded across my chest.

"This? No, I'm not convinced. Bow ties?"

"Yeah, well I know only one person who can carry off that look, and that's not you I'm afraid." I said before throwing a screwed up ball of paper through him.

"Interesting. I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It's in the name, isn't it? Spooky. Not quite there." He disappeared and then was standing behind us. "And yet, very much here."

"I'll do the talking, thank you. Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?" The Doctor asked, pushing me behind him.

"Erm, Dream Lord. He creates dreams."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks." I said, smiling away. Everything was starting to make a little more sense now.

"And what about the gooseberry, here? Does he get a guess?" The Dream Lord asked, pointing towards Rory.

"Er, listen, mate. If anyone's the gooseberry round here, it's the Doctor."

"Well now, there's a delusion I'm not responsible for." I wanted to wipe that stupid grin of the Dream Lords face. Rory seemed a little unsettled by that and questioned Amy. "Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even."

"I have chosen. Of course I've chosen." She said, before noticing the sad look on Rory's face. She lightly punched Rory on the arm. "It's you, stupid."

The Dream Lord popped up behind us again. "You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice, Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" I asked him.

The Dream Lord grinned at me. "Me? Oh, you're both on shaky ground. You haven't even told him yet have you? Everything that happened, everything you really feel."

I felt the anger rising in me. "Shut up. You know it's not your place to tell him. See, you know who I am. And with that, you know what I can do. You won't tell him, because I know who you are."

His face fell and I let a grin spread across my face, feeling the energy that was burning start to subside. He turned his attention from me to the Doctor. "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first year fashion student. I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic you are. Where was I?"

"You were…" Rory started, before being cut off.

"I know where I was. So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face, in both worlds, a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep."

I heard the bird song starting up again and felt the Doctor put his arms around my waist. "Oh, or are you waking up?" The Dream Lord said before we fell to the ground.

I managed to force myself to stay awake a little longer than the others. I looked over at the Dream Lord. "You know, he will beat you. I don't even need to tell you that. See, I've already worked it out."

"Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad." I opened my eyes and we were back in the home, with the Dream Lord. "Look at this x-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

I laughed as I pulled myself off the floor. "Yeah? And I can see through you, Dream Lord." He glared at me.

"Now then, the prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?" Rory took the bait and asked him. "You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?" Amy asked the Dream Lord before turning to the Doctor. "Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy. But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning." The Dream Lord said before disappearing.

I heard Amy keep questioning the Doctor about the Dream Lord. I looked around the room and noticed that we were the only people there. "They've gone. They've all gone." I said before rushing outside.

"Why would they leave?" Rory asked as the rest caught up with me. I watched as the children played before the teacher called them away to go up to the castle.

"And what did you mean about Mrs Poggit's nice old lady act?" Amy asked.

"One of my tawdry quirks. Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So, come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in. Time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."

"And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time." Rory pointed out.

"Yes, sort of communal trance. Very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a tell, but my mind isn't working because this village is so dull!" The Doctor cried. "I'm slowing down, like you two have."

I was about to whack him when Amy caught my attention. "Ow. Really. Ow! It's coming." I quickly rushed to her side. As did Rory and the Doctor.

"Okay, you're a doctor, help her." The Doctor said to Rory. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Rory stared at him. "You're a doctor."

"It's okay, we're doctors." He squatted down, as if he was about to catch the baby.

"What do we do?" Rory said in panic. I let a laugh slip out.

"Okay, it's not coming." Amy told them, standing back upright and smiling.

"What?"

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet, so don't you call it dull again, ever. Okay?" Amy was truly annoyed with the Doctor this time.

"Very nice, Amy." I said as I linked my arm through hers. She finally gave me a real smile, the first one since all this had started.

We walked over towards the swings in the playground, I was keeping an eye on Mrs Poggit. I helped Amy sit on one of the swings and then nabbed the other one for myself before the Doctor could. He pouted at me and so I reluctantly go up and let him sit down. I was about to walk away a little when I felt his arms grab me and pull me into his lap on the swing.

"Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room…" That comment earned the Doctor a whack on the arm.

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby." Amy protested.

"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail? You hold him down, I'll cut it off?" The Doctor said, making all of us laugh. Well, all of us except for poor Rory.

"This coming from the man in the bow tie." Rory retorted.

"Bow ties are cool." The Doctor said before pushing me up and getting up himself. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs Poggit as a babysitter. What's she doing? What does she want?"

She turned and looked at us, then the stupid birds started up again. "Oh, lovely. Here we go again." I said, just making it to the Doctor before falling to the ground.

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**A:N/ So, what do you think? I promise to upload the next part really really quickly. Honest, I really will. But keep those reviews coming in the mean time!**

**Pippa**


	15. Amy's Choice Pt2

**Disclaimer: I like coffee, and I don't own Doctor Who.**

**A/N: Thank you again for the reviews, they always make me smile. Now, let's get on with the story.**

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And I woke up in the TARDIS again, the Doctor looking at me again as well. "I'm fine." I told him as he helped me up.

"It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?" Amy asked.

"What does it matter if we're cold? We have to know what she is up to." My elbow came into contact with the Doctor's side.

"Rude much?" I snapped at him. "There should be some stuff down there, have a look." I told Amy, pointing towards an area just to the side of the console.

I followed the Doctor under the console as he started rummaging around for something. "You really need to calm down. Getting rude and angry is not going to solve anything."

He stopped and looked at me. "You know who he is?" I nodded at him. "And you know what's going on?" I nodded at him again. "Are you going to tell me?"

"You'll work it out eventually. Besides, I know what will happen if I tell you." He frowned at me, and gave me that look that told me if I didn't explain more, he was going to push even further. "I don't just know who he is, he knows me. He knows the things I haven't told you yet. Now come on, we need to get the scanner working."

I pulled a lot of odd bits together and with the help of the Doctor we managed to make a contraption that could power up the scanner for us. So that we could as least find out where we were.

"Ah, Rory." I called as I ran back up the stairs, still ignoring the pain. "Wind this. And Amy, attach this to the monitor if you please."

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitchen wind-up device." Rory moaned.

"It's a generator. Get winding." I said as I patter Rory on the shoulder.

"Not enough." Amy called from the monitor.

"Rory, wind." I called as I went to stand by the Doctor and Amy at the monitor.

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?" Rory asked. The Doctor and I just looked at each other. I wasn't going to say a word.

"Were are we?" Amy asked as the scanner suddenly sprang to life.

"We're in trouble." The Doctor said, looking at the screen.

"What is that?" Rory asked as he looked over.

"A star. A cold star." I said, trying not to smile. "That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun."

"There's our deadly danger for this version of reality." The Doctor said, looking out the doors at the icy blue star before slamming them shut.

"So this must be the dream. There's no such thing as I cold star. Stars burn." Amy tried to reason.

"So's this one. It's just burning cold." I told them, still trying to control myself.

"Is that possible?" Rory asked.

Before I could say anything the Doctor was off. "I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?"

I shook my head and sat back down on the stairs again, leaving the Doctor to explain to them how we would freeze to death before we hit the star. Then Rory decided to start up a little argument with him.

"Oh dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks." I looked up and saw the Dream Lord standing there. "There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and…" The birds started up, again. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."

I watched as Amy, Rory and the Doctor fell to the floor. "He will work it out. He isn't stupid." I told the Dream Lord as I struggled to stay awake.

"And you won't tell him, will you? Because you know what I will do to you if you do." He sneered at me.

"Yeah, give it a rest." I mumbled before closing my eyes.

"Oh, no. I'm not done with you yet." The Dream Lord said as he held my head up. "I could put you in your own personal hell. Would you like that?"

"Yeah, you could. But would you? Would you really do that? Would you really want me to have to go through all that again? Like I said, I know who you are, you could never do it." He put my head down gently and I let out a sigh.

"Play time's definitely over." I heard the Doctor say. I tried to move but found that my legs weren't on the ground. I opened my eyes to see the same face I kept seeing, the Doctor. "Summer, are you okay? What happened? We all woke up but you didn't."

I could see the concern etched over his face and evident in his voice. "Just having a chat with our local Dream Lord. Sorry if I worried you." He kissed the top of my head before putting me down so I could stand.

"They're just old people." Amy said, noticing a group of elderly people walking towards us.

"No, they're very old people. Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive." The Doctor said, taking my hand.

"Hello, peasants. What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it?" The Dream Lord had suddenly appeared.

I let out a groan. "Oh come on. I only just got away from you. Can't I at least get five minutes away from you?" He just glared at me. "I'm actually contemplating the personal hell option now."

"Oh, well you would wouldn't you?" He retorted.

I laughed a little. "If it get's me away from you and your tawdry quirks, yeah, maybe I would." I watched as a hint of anger flashed across his face.

"What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS. We can send her first." He said, pointing at me. "The Doctor comes back for you but already has someone else there. You want her gone."

"Leaver her alone." The Doctor growled, pulling me closer to him.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero. Leave her alone." The Dream Lord was grinning again now.

"Just, leave her." Rory said, pulling Amy closer to him to try and protect her.

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive, but I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

Now it was Amy's turn to snap. "Shut up. Just shut up and leave me alone." She shouted.

The Dream Lord kept on grinning away. "But listen, you're in there. Loves a redhead, our naughty Doctor."

I took a step forwards, away from the Doctor. "Oh, you better think very carefully about what you say next." I warned him. I glanced down at my hands and saw the orange and red glow building. "So, you were saying?"

I saw the fear in his eyes. He knew I wasn't playing his game any more. I kept staring at him, a grin plastered across my face.

"Star, stop." I felt the Doctor put a hand on my arm. "Everything is okay, just stop now." I let out a long breath and felt the energy start to fade. The Doctor put his arm around my waist and kissed my hair before turning to the Dream Lord. "I know who you are."

"Course you don't." He replied, glaring at me.

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do." I could see the Doctor grinning now as well.

"Never mind me. Maybe you should worry about them." The Dream Lord said, looking over at the hoard of elderly people heading towards us. He looked back at me. "Maybe I can show you hell later." He said before vanishing again.

"Hello, we were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements, but the look of it. Are you all right? You look a bit tense." The Doctor said, as the large group got closer.

"Hello, Mr Nainby. Mr Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee." I watched as the old man grabbed Rory by the collar and lifted him up into the air. "Did I not say thank you?" I tensed as Rory was thrown onto the ground. "How did he do that?"

"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run, fast." The Doctor warned us all.

"Can't we just talk to them?" Amy asked. Then the old people all started to open their mouths to reveal an eye. "There is an eye in her mouth."

"There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them and there has been for years. They've been living and waiting." I told them, not moving from the Doctor's side. I watched as Mrs Poggie started to breath some green gas. "Amy, Rory, Run!" I shouted.

"Okay, leave them, leave them. Talk to us, talk to us. You are Eknodines. A proud, ancient race, you're better than this." The Doctor said. I glanced back to see Amy and Rory running as best they could.

"Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?" I asked them.

"We were driven from out planet by…"

"Planet by upstart neighbours." The Doctor said.

"So we've…"

"Been living here inside the bodies of old humans for years. No wonder they live so long. You've been keeping them alive." I kept glancing back while the Doctor talked, hoping that both of them would be okay.

"We were humbled and destroyed. Now we will do the same to others."

"Okay. Makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough. Could be real." The Doctor said before we both saw a postman turn to dust by Mrs Poggit.

"You need to leave this planet." I warned her. Unfortunately she didn't like the warning and soon enough the Doctor and I were both running. "Well, that could have gone better." I called as the Doctor tightened his grip on my hand.

"Which one is it? Which one is the dream?" He asked me as we carried on running towards the village.

"What makes you think that I know?"

"Because you're my Star. And you're brilliant." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh, come on. Let's move." I said as I dragged him into the butchers shop. "Oh great. Just who I wanted to see." I moan as I saw the Dream Lord behind the counter. The Doctor and I were both fighting off the sounds of the birds.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you? We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big flop-haired wuss."

"Oh, pipe down, I'm busy." The Doctor called as he tried to find us somewhere to hide.

"Maybe you need a little sleep." I watched as the Doctor slumped to the floor. "Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you both with their horrible eye things." I pulled the Doctor up and he instantly shoved his fingers in his ears. "Fingers in the ear, brilliant. What's next, shouting boo?" The old people appeared outside. "Come in, come in."

I dragged the Doctor up again. "Come on, get in here." I pulled him into the storeroom and we both collapsed.

I was starting to get fed up of waking up on the stairs. Next time, I would have to find somewhere else.

"Ah, it's colder." Amy complained.

"The four of us have to agree, now, which is the dream." The Doctor ordered, putting his arm around my waist again.

"It's this, here." Rory said confidently.

"He could be right." Amy agreed. "The science is all wrong here. Burning ice?"

"Hello, remember me? Power and energy of a star? Not exactly normal science is it." I retorted.

"Summer's right. Ice can burn. Sofas can read. It's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now."

"Okay, which world do you think is real?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"This one."

"No, the other one." Rory insisted.

"Oh, give it a rest, the pair of you. We have 9 minutes till impact. It's time to make a decision. Just don't ask me which one I think is real." I said as I went over to help Amy with the blankets.

"Why? What do you think?" The Doctor asked curiously.

I let out a sigh. "Didn't I tell you not to ask? Look, I'm not going to say anything here. You lads fight it out."

We cut holes in the top of the blankets and I passed one to the Doctor. He frowned when he saw I didn't have one. "You should wear it."

"Nope. I'm fine. I can keep myself warm, remember." I told him as I made my skin glow slightly.

"If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band." Amy said as she stood there wearing her poncho.

"We're not going to die." Rory told her, even thought he was struggling to believe it. I know I would have if I didn't know better.

"No, we're not, but our time's running out. If we fall asleep here we're in trouble. If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world. But the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why? Why? What's the logic?" I could see the Doctor getting frustrated again.

Suddenly the Dream Lord appeared. "Good idea, veggie. Let's divide you four up, so I can have a chat with our lovely ladies. Maybe I'll keep them, and you can have pointy nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

"Can you hear that?" Rory asked. I knew straight away that they were hearing the birds.

I kneeled down by the Doctor as he started to fall asleep. "Don't worry. I'll look after Amy. Leave me in that storeroom, you won't get far if you have to carry me, so just leave me there, okay?" I said to him softly.

"No, I won't leave you again. I promised." He replied before falling asleep.

"We're going to have fun, aren't we ladies?" The Dream Lord said smugly.

"Oh yeah. Bundles of fun. You should remember he isn't here to calm me down now." I warned him as I went and sat with Amy.

"Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn't he, alone in the dark. Never apologises."

"He doesn't have to." Amy said firmly.

"That's good, because he never will. And now he's left you with me. Spooky old, not to be trust me. Anything could happen." He gloated.

I let out a little laugh. "Not while I'm around."

"Who are you, and what do you want? The Doctor knows you, and so does Summer, but he's not tell me who you are. And he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different."

"Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?" I watched his smile grow bigger. I wanted to slap him but knew that was pointless, I couldn't even touch him.

"Actually, yes." Amy said, sounding very please with herself.

"The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?"

"Yes."

I glared at him, I knew where he was taking the conversation. "Stop it. Right now. Amy, stop talking to him."

They both ignored me. "So what's his name? She knows, she's always known." I could feel myself getting more and more angry. "Now, which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?"

"I thought I told you to stop it." I shouted, making him and Amy jump a little.

"But maybe it's better than loving and losing the Doctor. Pick a world, and this nightmare will all be over. They'll listen to you. It's you they're waiting for. Amy's men. Amy's choice." The Dream Lord said before disappearing.

"Amy, do not listen to him. Amy?" She was starting to fall asleep. "Amy, stay awake, please." I begged, but it was too late, she had gone back to the other world.

I sat there on my own for a little, trying to decide what to do when the Dream Lord came back. "Oh, you're back?" I asked him casually.

"He let you die in the other world. How does that make you feel?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Ah well, never mind. I still got this world for a few more minutes haven't I?"

"Oh, I have a better world for you, a place just for you." I looked at him and saw the grin on his face. Then I heard the birds.

I could feel myself being dragged across a cold stone floor. I forced my eyes open and saw the bottom of some rich, red robes. I was let go and finally managed to look up properly.

"The Lady Star has returned to us." My eyes widened on horror as I realised I was back on Gallifrey, in front of Rassilon.

"As always, I didn't come here by choice." I said as I looked around. Everything seemed to be falling apart, crumbling and decaying.

"The first days of the great war and many have perished."

"What, and that's my fault is it? I didn't start this war, Rassilon, you can't blame me for this."

He smirked at me. "No, but you could have saved so many lives. We could have ended this war before it had even begun."

"I am not your weapon." I shouted. "I never was and I never will be."

I felt hands dragged me off the floor and over to the window. Outside all I could see was destruction. There were people screaming as they were killed. I felt the tears slip down my face. "This wasn't my fault. I didn't do this. It wasn't my fault."

"You could have stopped this. You could have saved them. You helped your bond destroy your own planet, you have killed your own people by not helping us." Rassilon's voice was starting to get to me. I could see the sense in his words.

My powers, the energy I had, I could have ended the war. I could have stopped people from dying, so many people. The Doctor would never have had to end it himself, he wouldn't have all that guilt and pain. It wouldn't be his burden to bare.

"Gallifrey's brightest star. The only one who can end this misery. You can put an end to the Daleks forever. You can save this world and so many others."

I fell onto the floor in a heap. Rassilon was right, I could have saved them all. The Daleks never stood a chance against me, when I was put through 'training' I destroyed a thousand Daleks in the blink of an eye. Gallifrey was gone and it was all my fault.

I huddled up against the wall and cried. I had always been so stubborn, so stupid. I had been selfish and refused to help with the war, and now they were gone, everyone was gone.

"It's all my fault. It's all my fault." I cried, letting the tears fall.

"Star?" I looked up and saw the Doctor standing there with Amy and Rory behind him.

"It's all my fault. This is all my fault. I could have stopped the war, I could have destroyed every single Dalek in existence. But I didn't. Everyone is dead and it's all my fault. I killed them." I whispered, still crying.

"No, Star, listen to me. This is a dream, this isn't real. You know it isn't real. How can this be real if Amy and Rory are here? None of this was your fault, none of it." The Doctor said softly, kneeling down in front of me.

"Yes it is. My powers could have saved so many people and planets. I refused to do it. I refused to help. How can you say it's not my fault?"

"Because you would never, ever, use your power like that. You have to believe me, this isn't real." I looked up and saw him, the Doctor. The same concerned look he always had when something was wrong.

"This… this isn't real?" I asked him quietly, trying to contain my crying. He shook his head at me. "Then, there's only one way to get out of here."

"Amy, Rory, come over here, quickly." The Doctor shouted. They rushed over and stood beside the Doctor. "Okay, now, don't be scared, no one be scared. We will wake up and be in the TARDIS."

Everyone nodded. I closed my eyes and let the energy that had been building release.

"So, you chose this world. Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up." It was the Dream Lord. We were back in the TARDIS and the power was back on. "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."

I felt the Doctor pull me up and hug me. He was half frozen but I quickly managed to sort that out. "Doctor…"

He smiled at me. "I know. Now come and help me get us out of here as well."

We both started dashing around the console. "What are we doing now?" Amy asked as she saw us both.

"Us? We're going to blow up the TARDIS." The Doctor replied.

"What?" Rory stated in shock.

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick." I couldn't help but laugh. "But he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality."

"What are you doing?" Amy asked in panic as the TARDIS started shaking.

"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded. This isn't a dream." Rory yelled.

"Yes, it is." I called back. "If this wasn't a dream then I would be able to hear the TARDIS, she isn't talking to me, she hasn't been since all this started. This is a dream."

"And a star burning cold? Do me a favour. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams." The Doctor added as we both started grinning.

"How do you know that?" Amy asked.

"Because we know who he is." The Doctor said, just before the TARDIS exploded.

I woke up and saw the Doctor leaning against the console with something in his hand. "Any questions?" He asked, as Amy and Rory come bouncing down the stairs.

"Er, what's that?" Amy asked, pointing to the small yellow grains in his hand.

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell into the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." The Doctor explained.

I watched him as he opened the doors and blew the specks out into space. "So, that was the Dream Lord then? Those little specks?" Rory asked as the Doctor came back in.

"No, no. No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907, it had a lot to go on." He told them. The whole time he had been talking he had been sending me worried glances.

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked.

"The darkness in you pair, it would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I'm stuck with my own company, Summer would get bored of me after a while and keep hitting me."

"But those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true?" Amy asked him softly.

"Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention." The Doctor said before pushing her towards Rory.

I quickly got up from where I was sitting and headed towards the corridor. I knew exactly what the Doctor was going to want to talk about, and I wanted to get as far away from him as I could before he could ask me. I heard him call out my name as I ran, and begged the TARDIS to help me get more distance on him. I could see the door to my room appear ahead of me, and the Doctors calls were quieter.

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**A/N: Oh my, whatever shall happen next? I have to admit, I spent a long time thinking over what would happen in this one and where it would lead. I hope it actually came out okay. **

**So the next chapter, do you think Summer actually talks to the Doctor about everything that happened? Or is she going to keep on running, just like he has been doing all his life? **

**Reviews are more than welcome. Reviews are really really good. Reviews are awesome and so are all you amazing and wonderful people who read this and all those who review. **

**Pippa**


	16. Time to Tell the Truth

**Disclaimer: I like puppies. **

**A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed and those who have followed/favourited this story. **

**I know this chapter is probably shorter than most of the others, but I promise to get the next chapter up within the next 24 hours of this one. Because I love you all so much. **

**Now, remember to review! They make me smile. **

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I quickly locked my door and ran into the bathroom, locking the door again. I turned on the shower and hurried into the library. The only way the Doctor could get in there was by getting into my room and then into the bathroom. At least it would buy me some time by myself before he managed it.

"_Why are you hiding from him, Star?_"

I let out a sigh. "_Because I need some time alone. Right now he is probably trying to break down the bedroom door._" I replied to the TARDIS.

"_Actually, he already has. He thinks you're in the shower. So your plan is working so far, but you can only pretend to be in there for so long before he realises something is wrong._" She was right, of course she was, but I couldn't face him. Not yet.

"_Please, just keep him out for a little while longer. I really can't do any of this right now._" I pleaded. I knew she understood how I was feeling.

"_Okay, but I will have to let him in eventually if you don't go out there._"

I huddled up in the corner and placed my head in my hands, letting the tears that I had been holding finally fall. Every time I thought about my past I ended up crying. That just showed how weak I was. The Doctor didn't need me. He deserved someone better, someone who was stronger than me. He would be so much better off without me. If only he had let me go when I asked him to, when he didn't know who I was. Then none of this would have happened, he wouldn't have to worry about me, and I wouldn't spend half my time crying over stupid things.

I guess, in the end, I must have cried myself to sleep as I woke up lying on my bed with the Doctor next to me. He looked over at me and smiled as best he could when I opened my eyes, but I could tell from his expression he was worried.

"So, are you going to tell me about it? "He asked me softly.

I tried to avoid looking at his eyes. "I don't want to, but I don't really have a choice anymore do I? I was going to tell you everything, I swear I was."

"Star, my beautiful Star, tell me what happened?" He said, tucking some of my hair behind my ear.

"After you left, there were rumours about a war. Rassilon was turning everyone into warriors, anyone who could fight, was trained up. When it came to me, I got the special treatment, because he knew what I could do." I had to stop to wipe my eyes, I could feel the tears building already.

"He trained me, showed me how to better control what I could do. Then he sent me to a Dalek ship. I had no idea what was going on at the time, I just woke up and had no idea where I was until I saw a Dalek. At first, I panicked, I couldn't control the energy and everything just started burning." I decided to look at the Doctor, I could see the sadness on his face and in his eyes.

"I eventually calmed down and took out the whole ship in less than a second. I killed them all, all the Daleks on that ship died because of me. That's when I realised what he wanted me for, why he was training me. He wanted to use me as a weapon against the Daleks."

"What did you do?" He was being so calm, I hated it. He should have been shouting at me for what I had done.

"I ran. I tried to hide, I spent so long running away from it all. He was always searching for me, trying to find ways to draw me out. A rumour went around that you were back, but I knew that was a lie. I watched as our people died. Innocent people, children. I saw them die, I heard them scream and I didn't help them." The tears started up again, rolling down my cheeks.

"It wasn't your fault." The Doctor assured me, but I couldn't believe him.

"Yes it was. I could have helped them, saved them. But I didn't, I was too concerned about myself. I was selfish. I let those people die, our people." I turned away from him, unable to look at him anymore, so ashamed of myself for what I had done.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this was going on at the time? I could have come and got you, taken you away."

"Because that's what he wanted." I whispered. "There were a few of us who knew how the war would end, who would do it. If you had come back before the time was right… well, you know what they were planning."

"Star, look at me." I didn't move. "Please, just look at me." Reluctantly I rolled back over and faced him. "You need to stop blaming yourself. I know it's hard, you know what I had to do, but you can't live like that."

"Rassilon found me in the end. He blamed me for all the deaths of our people. He tried to convince me to tell him where you were. When I still wouldn't help him, that's when I was thrown in the Void Cavern." I let out a sigh, I had told him so much and he had not said a bad word against me, even though he should hate me.

"How long were you in there for?" He asked as he started playing with my hair.

"I don't know. Long enough for me to start forgetting. That's when the bond was broken, when I was in there. And before you say it, you know why I didn't tell you before it happened. But that's where my mother found me, she got me out of there and sent me away." I understood now why she had sent me to Earth. I had always talked about it, and it was my favourite planet, just like the Doctor's.

"She must have known I would eventually find you there." The Doctor said with a smile. He must have been thinking the same thing as me.

"Yeah, since she knew we both loved the place." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It had been hard telling him what had happened.

"What are you not telling me?" I opened my eyes and saw him frowning at me. "Come on, I know there is more. You're doing well, just keep going."

"I… I don't know if I want to." I said quietly.

"The sooner you tell me, the sooner you can be yourself again. I want my sarcastic, lively, happy Star back."

I smiled at him, but only a little. "I didn't just refuse to help once, there were so many times he tried to convince me. Once, I used my power against him. I couldn't control it, I was just so angry and upset, I didn't mean to loose it like that but I did. It resulted in me regenerating."

"What makes it bad?" He asked curiously.

"The jet black hair and the ice blue eyes did." I saw the look of shock on his face. "That's when I started trying to take down the council. I didn't get very far, they always seemed to be one step ahead of me. I was careless, I didn't care what happened, I just had one goal, to take them down. That's how I was when I was caught and thrown away to die."

He didn't say a word, he just pulled me towards him and held me. I had told him most of what had happened, and I was feeling slightly better for it. Maybe I should have told him sooner, but it was dealt with now. Well, most of it was.

"You need to stop blaming yourself now. It's not going to change anything, you couldn't have stopped the war on your own." The Doctor told me softly.

"Why not? You did."

He let out a sigh, I had caught him there. "And it killed me to do it. But I had more reasons. I thought you were dead, I thought they had taken you away from me. The most important person in the universe. I was full of anger and hatred. You weren't like that, you could never be like that."

"But that's how I was during that regeneration. I was so much like my father. I wanted revenge and I didn't care who got hurt in the process. I was a monster." I whispered the last part, but he still heard me.

"You have never been, or ever will be a monster." He said firmly. "You are in no way like him. You can't ever think that you are."

"I was scared, Theta, I was so scared and alone. I didn't think I would ever make it out. I didn't think I would ever see you again. I gave up all hope."

"I'm here, and so are you. We're both here and we are together." He said, running his hand through my hair. "Tell me, why did you want to get away from me and not tell me who you were? And I want the truth."

"The truth? Because I was scared. You've moved on, you're doing everything that you love. And I was scared of what you might think of me for what happened. For what I done." I told him quietly. "You thought I was dead, nothing would change if you didn't know who I was."

He pushed me away a little to look at my face. "Of course it would! It would change because I wouldn't be alone any more. I'd have someone to share everything with."

"I was just so used to running, it felt like the easiest option at the time. I'm sorry."

He frowned at me. "Don't be sorry. I've been running all my life, remember that. You stuck it out, you stayed at home and done your best. You didn't run away, you faced everything that I didn't."

"I ran in the end." I whispered. "I never faced the war, I ran and I hid."

"Yeah, and look where it brought you? Back to me." He said, planting a kiss on the top of my head.

"I think that was more down to the TARDIS, actually." I pointed out, making the Doctor laugh a little. "And she kept bring you to me. Get it right." I mumbled.

"And there it is, that's what I've been missing." The Doctor said happily. "So, anything else you want to tell me?"

I thought about it for a moment. There were still little things I should probably tell him, but they could wait. I had done enough sharing and dragging up the past already. "I think that will do for now."

"Good. How are you feeling?" He was back to playing with my hair again.

"I'm okay. Emotionally drained a little, but I think I can manage."

"Now, I have a few questions, about the Dream Lord…" I rolled my eyes, I should have known he would pick up on some of the things that had happened then.

"Go on then, what do you want to know?" I asked, not very enthusiastically.

"Well, when did you realise they were both dreams?"

"As soon as we went from Leadworth back to the TARDIS. I knew something was wrong straight away because she wasn't talking to me, and that never happens. When she wouldn't talk to me in either, I knew they both had to be dreams." I told him.

"I guess that's how you knew to call him the Dream Lord straight away." I nodded at him. "And you knew where he would send you for your 'personal hell'?"

"Yeah, but I thought I would be able to handle it, knowing that it was only a dream. But I lost myself. It was just too much. He knew it would break me." The Doctor didn't say anything, so I decided it was my turn to ask a few questions. "Did you get my hint as to who he was?"

I saw the grin spread across his face. "Tawdry quirks? He didn't like that very much did he?"

I laughed a little. "Nah, not at all. He… umm… told me that I died in the Leadworth dream. What happened exactly?"

I saw him tense up a little. "You were turned to dust. Same as Rory was." I nodded at him, I knew something happened, the Dream Lord had told me after all.

"Fair enough. Just, do me a favour, try not to let any more psychic pollen in the TARDIS. That side of you really gave me a headache." The Doctor laughed and just held me tighter.

"Well, you certainly knew how to take care of him didn't you? Blimey, I know you like to be sarcastic but really. It just kept on flowing with him didn't it?"

I let a little laugh slip out. "Well, it was pretty easy. He thought he was in control, he thought he could win. That's why you and Amy couldn't notice me at first. He didn't want me to give the game away so soon."

The Doctor nodded at me. "I'm sorry for that. Honestly, I really am."

"And I'm sorry for what I said as well. About you already forgetting me, that was really out if line." I knew that I had hurt him when I had said that.

"Forget about it. I understand completely." He kissed the top of my head again and held me a little tighter.

I felt so much better after telling him most of what had happened. I always knew I was going to have to tell him, and I had always been scared of how he might react. But the one thing I had forgotten was how understanding and caring he was. I was stupid to be afraid.

"So, where do you want to go now?" He asked me after a long silence.

"I have no idea what so ever. As long as it's not Leadworth, don't think I could deal with seeing that place again so soon." The Doctor let out a light laugh. "You're the one who said it was dull. That got you into trouble with Amy, remember?"

"Yes, right. Sorry." I could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking about something else.

"What's wrong?" I spoke as softly to him as I could. He could be stubborn at times, and I just wanted him to talk to me instead of thinking he could keep himself closed off.

"It's so quiet in my head. And having you here just reminds me of what's missing." I could see the sadness in his eyes. He had been alone for so long, all the voices of the Time Lords long gone. And yet there I was, beside him, keeping him completely out, not even letting the slightest thought slip.

"I can't. I'm not ready. There are still a few things I need to tell you. I can't start the bonding."

"I know, it's too soon for that. I just want you back in my mind again." I couldn't bare to see him so sad. He was close to tears, and that was rare for him. He always tried so hard not to show those kinds of emotions, but sometimes, they would break through.

"I… um… I think I may be able to do something." I took a deep breath and started to slowly to take down some of the barriers. I had to be careful not to take down too many otherwise the bond would start to snap back in place.

"_I wonder what it would take to get her into a dress?_" I heard a voice say in my head. I kept my concentration and held in my laughter. "_Or a skirt. Not those silly little things that Pond wears._" I carried on listening. "_I'm going to take us somewhere where she has to wear a dress. I will get her in a dress if it's the last thing I do._"

I couldn't take it anymore and felt confident that enough barriers were still in place. "_Good luck with that. I don't do dresses._" I called back to the voice in my head.

The Doctors eyes widened as he looked at me. He opened his mouth but no words came out. "Something wrong? Or are you just doing your fish impression?" I asked him, trying to conceal my grin.

"But… did you just?" Were the only words he managed to form.

I rolled my eyes at him. "_Did I just what, Theta?_"

"But what about the bond?" He asked in a panic.

"_It's fine, calm down. I know what I'm doing. I thought you wanted me to be back in here?_" I watched him as a smile crept across his face.

"_Promise me you will be careful? I don't want the bond to happen until you're ready._"

"I promise. Now, you need to be careful with your thoughts. I know you're not used to someone else being able to hear them, but I'm here now. And I don't really like hearing about plots and plans to get me into a dress or a skirt." I warned him, in a nice way.

"_I plan to never, ever, let my Sidra get away from me again._" I looked at the Doctor, a gleam in his eyes. He was happy.

"You know, I never really liked that name. Summer and Star I can handle, but Sidra, never been sure about it." I told him, frowning at the fact that he had called me that.

"Tough. It's your name and it's what I get to call you." The Doctor said as he pulled me closer towards him and gently kissed my head.

I let out a sigh, all those years of running and hiding, thinking I was never going to see him again. Yet there I was, in the TARDIS, with the Doctor. Everything seemed to be perfect, it all seemed too good to be true.

"_No, it's definitely not a dream._" I heard him call in my mind.

"This is going to take some getting used to. I'm only used to talking to the TARDIS, now I really do have to be careful with that I'm thinking." I was going to have to make sure my mind didn't wander too much. There were still things I was keeping from him, things that I would tell him, eventually.

The hand that had been running through my hair and playing with it stopped. I shifted my head a little and looked at the Doctor. I frowned at him when I saw the confused look on his face. "How long did you know where the library was?" He finally asked.

"Oh, erm, all the time. We knew it was the last place that you would look. Also meant that I could go there whenever I liked without you knowing." I tried my best to keep the grin that was trying to take over my face at bay.

"And you didn't tell me? You let me go off looking for it all the time when you knew exactly where it was?" Not only was he frowning at me but he was also trying to pout, thinking that it would work on me.

"Hey, it was your own fault, remember. At least when I pilot her, I get it right. I didn't make a little girl wait 12 years." I pointed out.

The Doctor looked like he was about to say something but didn't. He settled for shaking his head before smiling at me. "You, are impossible."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't want me any other way would you?" The Doctor smiled at me. "Anyway, come on." I said as I pushed myself away from him. "We have a pair of humans wandering around the place. Let's go and show them the stars."

Reluctantly, the Doctor let go of me and sat up on the bed. "Where should we take them?"

"Somewhere were dresses and skirts are illegal." I told him as I climbed over him to get off the bed. Sure, I could have got off on the other side, but where was the fun in that?

The Doctor blushed a little as our eyes met while I was leaning over him. He cleared his throat and tried to look anywhere but at me. "How about we go and find Amy and Rory and ask them where they want to go?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little. When he blushed and got embarrassed, he just looked adorable. I was just about to move and throw my feet at the floor when I felt the Doctors arms grab me around the waist and I collapsed on top of him.

"What was that for?" I asked him. He just grinned at me. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He still didn't answer so I just shook my head and tried to get up again.

The Doctor didn't let go of me and made sure to pull me back again. "Oh, you're not going anywhere yet." He said, before puling me closer and kissing me.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said, short. But to the point. Let me know what you wonderful people thought. Especially if anything confused you. **

**Pippa**


	17. The Hungry Earth

**Disclaimer: I wear a fez now, fezzes are cool.**

**A/N: Big thank you to all who have reviewed. You people really do make me smile. Keep it up! And thank you to all who have favourite/followed as well. **

**On with the show!**

* * *

I was dancing around the kitchen, making everyone some tea. The TARDIS had been kind enough to provide me with some music and I was currently going completely mental to a little bit of Backstreet Boys. I seemed to have taken a liking to a lot of the boy bands from the 90's back on Earth, after all, I had grown up listening to them when I was human.

The song ended and I turned to the doorway, a tray with the tea in my hands. I froze when I saw the Doctor leaning against the doorframe, grinning away at me.

"How long have you been standing there?" I demanded, glaring at him.

"Not long." He answered with a smirk on his face. In other words, he had been standing there for some time, watching me dance around like a loony.

"Well that's okay then. Wouldn't have wanted you to be watching me when I'm having my tea making ritual dance. It makes the tea just that little bit more special." He shook his head at me and took the tray out of my hands before turning around and making his way towards the console.

I didn't follow him straight away, I jumped around the room a few more times, without any music, with a smile on my face. I skipped down the corridor to the console room, humming to myself as I went. I still had that last song stuck in my head and knew it was going to stay there for the rest of the day now. I just had to refrain from singing.

I grabbed my tea from the Doctor as I passed him, flashing him my best smile. "So, have we decided where we are off to yet?"

"Rio!" The Doctor called.

"Rio?" I asked. The Doctor just nodded at me. "The place on Earth, the planet, the space station? Which Rio?"

"Earth Rio." The Doctor replied, draining his tea. "Now, go get changed. You can't go to Rio dressed like that?"

I stared at him. I was wearing my jeans and a short-sleeved top. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what I was wearing. "And you can't go out in public looking like that, and yet you still do." He pouted at me, I knew what he was trying to do, but it wasn't going to work. "I told you, I'm immune to those faces." I told him, patting the side of his face as I walked past him.

"But you're going to get changed?" He asked hopefully.

"Nope. I'm going to sit down and watch you completely mess this up." I told him with a huge grin across my face. I sat down on the stairs and waited, drinking my tea. A few minutes later we were off, to Rio.

"Behold, Rio!" The Doctor exclaimed as he stepped out of the TARDIS.

"Nah." Amy said, unimpressed and standing there in her extremely short skirt.

"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe." Rory said as I passed him and looked at where we were. Standing in a graveyard, on Earth.

"No? Ooh, feel that, though? What's that?" The Doctor asked me as he started jumping up and down.

"No, not Rio. Definitely not Rio. But you're right. The ground feels strange." I said before noticing the patches of grass that shouldn't be there. "Wait, that's rather weird."

"What's weird?" Rory asked as I walked over to what I had spotted.

"Doctor, Summer, stop trying to distract us. We're in the wrong place. Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio. We are not stopping here." Amy said firmly. But he was already standing next to me. "Doctor. Are you listening to me? It's a graveyard. You promised me a beach."

"Blue grass. Patches of it all around the graveyard." He said as he picked some of the grass and inspected it.

"Earth, 2020." I said before turning to Amy and Rory. "10 years into your future. Wrong continent for Rio, but at least he got the right planet this time."

"Yes, thank you." It was clear I had upset the Doctor.

"Why are those people waving at us?" Amy asked. I followed her gaze and saw a couple standing at the top of a hill close by.

"No, it can't be." I couldn't help but smile. If my theory was right, it was a good outcome. The people were waving and Rory instantly waved back.

I watched as the Doctor pulled a pair of binoculars out from his jacket pocket and looked at the people. "It is. It's you two." He exclaimed.

"No, we're here. How can we be up there?" Rory asked, not quite understanding the mechanics of it all.

"10 years in your future. Come back to relive past glories, I'd imaging." I told them both.

"Humans, you're so nostalgic." The Doctor added, grinning away.

"We're still together in 10 years?" There was something in Amy's voice that made me suspect she was a little shocked at that revelation.

"No need to sound so surprised." Rory informed her. He was happy, happier than Amy it would appear. Amy then decided that she wanted to go and chat with future them, but the Doctor told them that it was a bad idea.

"Oh, look. Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing." I could help but laugh at the Doctors enthusiasm over it. "See, way better than Rio. Rio doesn't have a big mining thing."

"We're not going to have a look, are we?" Amy asked. She didn't want to hang around there, she wanted to get to Rio.

"Amy, thinking about who you're talking to. When has he ever gotten excited over something and not had a look?" Amy let out a sigh, she knew she was beaten.

"If he can't get us to Rio, how's he ever going to get us back home?" Rory queried as we walking away from the graveyard and towards the mining 'thing'.

"That will probably be my job. Getting you both home. He failed his test, several times, I past mine first time. He should really let me fly her more often." I said as I bounced along beside the Doctor.

"Always complaining about my flying. It never stops." The Doctor mumbled as we walked.

"Well, when you let me teach you properly, then I can stop complaining." I said as I linked my arm through his, smiling away at him.

"I do fly her properly." He said as he pushed my arm away from him.

"Oh, stop sulking and being all grumpy." I said to him, stopping in my tracks. He was being unusually cranky for some reason. "What's wrong?"

He let out a sigh. "Nothing."

"Liar. So let me ask again. What's wrong?" I knew there had to be something wrong, and it must have been bad for him not to want to tell me.

"Really, it's nothing. I'm just thinking. I'm always thinking. Like thinking about the big mining thing and the blue grass and why the ground feels strange." I didn't believe him but I knew not to push him any further. He was hiding something and it was clear that he had no intentions of telling me any time soon.

"Amy, hurry up." I called as I saw her charging towards us. "Where's Rory gone?" I asked her, noticing he wasn't with her.

"Oh, he'll be back in a minute." She told me, a smile on her face. It was nice to see her so happy, even if we were in the wrong place.

We waked over to some large, locked gates. "Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel." I read off the sign. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the lock on the gate.

"That is breaking and entering." Amy cried, not impressed with what the Doctor had just done.

"What did he break? Sonicking and entering. Totally different." I told her as the Doctor swung the gate open. "Come on, then." I said as I made my way through the gate.

"You're sure Rory'll catch us up?" The Doctor asked her in concern. That was another sign that something was bothering him.

Amy just pushed him forward and through the gate and we walked towards the building. I kept my distance from the Doctor as we walked. I knew that he was upset for me for some reason.

"What about now? Can you feel it now?" The Doctor asked Amy as we walked through some kind of tunnel.

"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about. Summer, what's he on about?" Amy had her arm linked through mine as we carried on walking.

"The ground doesn't feel like it should." I told her, not really concentrating on what was going on around me.

"It's 10 years in the future. Maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels." Amy was trying to help, trying to think of explanations.

"Good thought, but no. It doesn't." The Doctor said before he whipped out his sonic at hearing some sort of alarm going off. "Hear that, drill in start-up mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass."

He put his sonic away and I shook my head as he put the blue grass he had picked earlier in his mouth. He was quick to spit it back out again after a few seconds.

"Oh, please. Have you always been this disgusting?" Amy asked him.

"No, that's recent." I had to stop myself from saying that it really wasn't, I didn't have the energy to argue with the Doctor. "What's in here?" He said as we walked into what looked like a storeroom. "Hello." He called cheerily to the woman in the room.

She turned to face us. "Who are you? What're you doing here? And what're you wearing?" The woman said as she looked at Amy in her skirt.

"I dressed for Rio." Amy moaned, not happy about having her outfit commented on.

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and flashed it at the woman. "Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science. New Ministry, quite big, just merged. It's a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Don't like to talk about it. What are you doing?"

"None of your business." The woman retorted. I had given up following the Doctor and whatever he was doing, I was looking at some of the monitors. There was something interesting about what they were actually doing there. And I was desperate to find out what it was.

"Where are you getting these readings from?" I asked the woman, not taking my eyes off the screen.

"Under the soil."

"The drill's up and running again." A man said as he walked into the room. "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Amy, Summer, the Doctor." Amy told them, sounding really rather bored already. "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?"

"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" The Doctor asked them, bending down and inspecting it. I had been wondering that as well, but I found the readings from under the soil to be much more interesting.

"We don't know. It just appeared overnight." The woman told him.

"Good. Right. You all need to get out of here very fast." I looked over at him and saw the panic on his face. I knew that face, that face meant trouble.

"What's your name?" I asked the woman, seeing that she wasn't going to listen to the Doctor.

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen. Look at your readings. It's moving." I told her, making her look at the screen I was standing in front of.

"Hey that's specialised equipment. Get away from it." The man protested. He didn't seem to like us coming in and interfering, something was telling me that they were hiding something.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Amy crouch down by the hole, steam rising from it. That was not a good sign at all. "It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting." I mumbled to myself.

"What shouldn't?" Nasreen had heard me and was standing next to me still. Then there was a loud rumbling noise. The whole room started to shake and the Doctor was quick to inspect the hole in the floor again.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving. But how and why?" I kept my eyes fixed on the screen while the Doctor continued to panic. Amy asked if it could be an earthquake, but the Doctor told her that it was only happening under that one room.

The floor started crumbling away and more holes started to appear. "It knows we're here. It's attacking. The ground is attacking us." Nasreen tried to argue with the Doctor, telling him that it's not possible. "Under the circumstances, I'd suggest, run!" The Doctor grabbed hold of Nasreen's hand and ran with her to safety.

I was far behind, waiting for Amy to catch up with me when we suddenly saw the man, Tony, get his foot stuck in the ground.

"Stay back, Summer, Amy. Stay away from the earth." The Doctor called from where he was standing.

I glared at him before jumping over a hole with Amy to reach the man. "It's okay, we're going to get you out." I told him before the ground under Amy's feet fell apart and she started sinking.

"It's pulling me down." She cried, as I grabbed hold of her arm, holding onto her as tightly as I could.

The Doctor came rushing over and took hold of Amy's other arm. As he did the ground opened up beneath my feet, and I sank down into it. I felt the Doctor grab hold of my arm as well. "Let go of me, Doctor." I told him. He could only save one of us, he needed to keep Amy safe.

"No, I'm not letting you go, I promise." He said firmly.

I saw Nasreen pull Tony free and make it away from the holes. "Doctor, you have to let me go now."

"No. I won't. Both of you just stay calm and keep hold of my hand. Don't let go. Your drill, shut it down. Go, now!" The Doctor shouted. Nasreen and Tony charged out of the room, presumable to shut down the drill.

"Can you get me out?" Amy asked. She was almost in tears and I could see how frightened she was.

"Amy, try and stay calm. If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of my hand." He looked from Amy to me. "Summer, just hold on."

I could feel something pulling me down. I couldn't even move my legs, I knew it was the same for Amy. "Doctor, let go. Just let go." He shook his head at me, I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes. "Then I'm sorry." I looked him in the eyes and felt a build up of energy release.

The Doctor quickly pulled his hand back. "What the hell did you do that for? Star, give me your hand. Now!" He cried, trying to reach out to me, ignoring the nasty burn I had made on the back of his hand. I knew he was upset with me by the way he called me Star and not Summer.

"I'm sorry. Get Amy out." I told him, as I was pulled further and further under. I could hear both him and Amy calling my name as I went under, until everything was dark, and silent.

I felt someone push something against my neck and then my vision started getting blurry. I felt my whole body start to weigh me down, I was losing consciousness and I had no idea where I was.

"Let me out. Can anybody hear me? I'm alive in here! Let me out! I know you're out there." I could hear someone shouting, and I knew it was Amy. I was annoyed, the Doctor had let her be taken as well. "My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me I am going to kick your backside." I couldn't help but smile at the attitude she was giving.

"_Just a head's up. Amy and I are both alive at the moment._" I called through to the Doctor's mind.

"_Star? You okay? What happened? Where are you?_" Even in my mind I could hear him panicking.

"_Not sure where exactly, but a long way underground. Currently stuck in some sort of glass pod. Not really enjoying myself too much._"

"_Don't worry, I'm going to come and get you, both of you. Just stay calm, I promise I will be there soon._" He was worried, I knew he was.

"_Well, I'm not going anywhere. And Amy is giving me some entertainment with her attitude._" I didn't want him to know I was actually just slightly concerned. Not for me, but for Amy. I could take care of myself, and although Amy had attitude, I worried about her.

"_That's our Amy. Be with you soon._"

I let out a sigh. "_Do you actually know what's going on yet?_"

"_Working on it._"

"Did you just shush me? Did you just shush me?" I heard Amy call. "No, no, no. No, don't do that. No gas. No gas!" I heard Amy coughing and before she went silent.

I panicked. "Amy? Amy you okay?" I called, forgetting the figure that was hanging around. "I swear, if you have hurt my friend in any way, you are seriously going to regret it."

"She is only sleeping. The gas will only knock you out. It's perfectly safe." The figure told me.

I let out a laugh. "Perfectly safe, of course. Except I'm not human. Don't you dare gas me." I warned. But the gas had already started, and I tried my best not to breathe it in but I couldn't. The gas wasn't going to knock me out, it was going to do something that I didn't want.

"Please, I'm begging you, you have to stop. I'm not human, check, please. Two hearts, I'm not human. Please, stop." I begged, but it was too late.

"_Theta, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._" I cried.

"_What's happened? What's wrong?_" He called back, but I couldn't answer him. I could feel my mind weakening, all the barriers I had in place were breaking down slowly.

"_I can't stop it, I'm sorry._"

I screamed in agony as several hundred years of memories invaded my mind. Everything the Doctor had done, all the things that he had seen, I couldn't block them anymore. The bond was snapping back into place, and it was getting too much for me. Everywhere he had been, the people he had met, the companions, and the enemies.

The pain I had felt when I opened the watch was nothing compared to the pain that was flooding through me now. It felt like every part of my body was on fire, and I couldn't stop it. I could hear the Doctor calling out to me still, the more the memories came, the more distant he sounded. I tried to hard to call back to him but I couldn't, I didn't have the strength left to do it.

The glass pod I was in shattered and I fell to the ground, my skin being cut by the shards of glass I landed on. I looked at my hands and saw the orange and red glow, I was angry, very angry. "I warned you, but you didn't listen." I growled as I looked at the person who had tried to gas me.

The creature was familiar, a reptile. "Oh, you're Silurian. Well you have just made a big mistake, a very big mistake." Before I could say anything else I doubled over in pain. The bond was still forming, and realistically, I was weak. The only reason I was still partially in control was because of the energy flowing through me.

The Silurian took my weak moment as his chance and injected something into my neck. I tried to fight him off but couldn't, I was in too much pain to even think straight. My body slumped and I felt myself being picked up off the glass covered ground.

"_Star? What the hell happened? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay._" I could hear him panicking even more than before. I wanted to call back to him, but I couldn't, my mind wouldn't let me. Whatever was in that gas had completely messed with my head, it was like a poison to me.

I could feel myself being put into something, I was standing, my arms restrained, and I couldn't move. It was just bringing back bad memories, from home, of what Rassilon put me through. That was still something I hadn't told the Doctor, something I still wasn't ready to let him know.

With the bond forming again, he would soon know if I didn't somehow manage to get any barriers back up. If I concentrated hard enough, if I focused on something else, a good memory a happy memory.

_I was led into the Academy, my gaze focused on the ground I was walking on. I had said goodbye to my mother and knew it would be a long time till I saw her again. My father hadn't been there, we didn't know where he was and honestly, neither of us cared much. He was a very nasty person. My mother had always told me that the only good thing to come from that man had been me. _

_We reached one of the dorms and I was left in a room on my own. I was scared and alone, I didn't know anyone. I kept thinking back to what I had seen in the Untempered Schism. They had told me I was one of the inspired, and that I would go on to do great things for Gallifrey. I didn't understand any of it. I just wanted to go home, back to my mother. _

_The days slowly passed, lessons took place and I kept myself to myself. No one seemed to notice me, and I was happy with that. One day I decided to sit out in the courtyard with a book. I had taken a great interest in a planet called Earth and was taking my time to read as many books about the place as I could. _

_I made myself comfortable underneath one of the shimmering trees and opened the book. I was so immersed in the book that I failed to notice a young boy sit down next to me. _

"_Do you like Earth?" The boy whispered to me, making my hearts jump. _

_I slammed the book closed and looked at the boy. He was a few years old than me, and there was something about his eyes that make me curious. "Maybe." I eventually said, forcing myself to look anywhere other than at him. _

"_I love Earth. I think humans are amazing." He said to me, getting more comfortable next to me. _

"_Why are you talking to me?" I asked him harshly. He was actually the first other student to have spoken to me since I arrived. The other girls in my dorm all ignored me, they acted like I wasn't even there and in class it was the same. _

"_Well, I just thought, since you're sitting here on your own, you might like a bit of company." I looked at him and frowned. "I've seen you around the past few days, you're always on your own."_

"_I've only been here for a few days. I haven't really tried to make any friends." I told him as I rested my hands on the closed book._

_He frowned at me. "Why not?"_

_I shrugged at him. "Don't know. The girls in my dorm have ignored me since the day I arrived. It doesn't bother me. I'm happy to just sit on my own and read." _

"_Well, if you want, I can be your friend?" I saw a glimmer in the boy's eyes and the smile on his face. _

_I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Okay."_

I managed to get a smile on my face. It was a good memory, it was the day we had first met and became great friends. It was the start of our many adventures together, the start of a happy time. It had also seemed to help me forget about the gas and lessen the effects it had been having on me. The trouble was, I still had the Doctor's memories creeping into my mind, and I couldn't stop them now.

I managed to force my eyes open and saw that I was strapped to something. I looked to my side and saw Amy had also been strapped in to one as well.

"Amy." I hissed, trying to get her to wake up. "Amy, wake up."

She started to stir and eventually opened her eyes. She looked over at me and smiled. "Summer, you're okay. Thank God you're okay." She said, before trying to move, only to find herself restrained.

"Don't struggle. Close your eyes and don't struggle." I heard a man say. Amy and I both looked over and saw a man strapped in, the same as us, next to Amy.

"What? Where are we? Why can't we move?" Amy asked in panic.

"Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me while I was conscious." He told us. I had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

"Okay, you're freaking me out now. Did what? Who did?" Amy asked while I kept quiet. I was still rebuilding some of my mental barriers now that my mind was clear.

"Dissected me." He said, looking down at the scar running from his chest all the way down.

"_Umm, Theta, not to worry you or anything but could you bloody hurry up!_" I shouted to him. I wasn't sure if he was even going to be able to hear me after what had happened.

"_Star, what happened? What's going on?_" I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he could hear me.

"_You really don't want to know. But Amy and I would really appreciate it if you got your backside here within the next few minutes._" I tried to stay as calm as I could.

"_Star, what happened? The bond… it…_"

"_Never mind about that. We can talk about that later, just hurry up will you. These Silurian's don't seem to be too friendly towards us._" I told him, recalling the male Silurian from earlier. He was the one who gassed us, the one who strapped us to the stupid vertical tables.

"_I'm with Nasreen, we're on our way. I promise._"

"He's coming." The man next to Amy said. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you." I followed his gaze and saw the Silurian approaching us, a scalpel in his hand. Things were definitely not going well, and I needed to protect Amy.

"_Theta, you've got seconds before all hell let's loose here._" I warned him, knowing what I was going to have to do.

"_What do you mean? What's happening?_" I didn't answer him, I put up more barriers, I needed to protect him from everything as well.

* * *

**A/N: I know, it was kind of short. The whole episode in one single chapter. But there wasn't exactly much happening for Summer, I mean, she was sucked into the ground and then knocked out. I promise, the next chapter it gets more interesting. **

**These next few chapters are going to make things change. Things are going to get a little more interesting. **

**Well, as always, review review review! Because your all so lovely and I haven't even tried any emotional blackmail yet. **

**Pippa.**


	18. Cold Blood Pt1

**Disclaimer: I have a chinese hamster called Boe.**

**A/N: Aww, you guys, I love you all. Thanks for the reviews and everything else. Remember to keep reviewing. I know you want the next chapter to here it is.**

* * *

I watched, as the Silurian got ever closer, he seemed to be going straight for Amy. "Don't you come near my with that." Amy cried as he stopped beside her.

"From the clothing, the human female appears to be more resistant to the cold than the male." He said into a voice recorder.

"I dressed for Rio!" Amy cried.

"Leave her alone." I shouted, getting his attention. "You've got me, and like I told you before, I'm not even human. Did you check?"

It seemed to work, he moved from Amy's side and to mine. "Two hearts, yes you did mention that before you managed to break out from the pod."

"Oh, I'll break a lot more than just that if you hurt my friend." I warned him. I could feel the energy building again, whatever had messed up my mind was now completely gone, and for that, I was extremely grateful.

"The unknown female seems to have a power unknown to our species." He said into the voice recorder.

"Do you want to know what species I am? Would you like me to tell you all about my unknown power?" I asked, feeling my eyes starting to burn. He just looked at me, waiting for me to talk. "My name is Star, from the planet Gallifrey. I'm the last Time Lady. I was called Star because I have all the power and energy of one flowing through me. So you are standing in a very dangerous place." I could feel my eyes burning more and more as I spoke.

I saw his eyes widened. "_Area 17 incursion. Species diagnostic requested. Area 17 incursion. Species diagnostic requested._" A voice called over what I could only presume was a tannoy system. He quickly ran out of the room.

"_I think you've been noticed._" I called to the Doctor, now that the immediate threat for Amy and myself was gone.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that wasn't a bad as I expected." I said, looking over at Amy and smiling.

Amy frowned at me. "Yeah, but how do we get out of here?" She asked me. She was still worried.

"Oh, come on, Amy. This is me, did you not hear how I smashed the glass coffin these guys put us in?" As I finished speaking the restraints that were holding all three of us snapped open. I let out a sigh of relief as I jumped out of the ridicules holder. "Right, we need to find the Doctor. I know he is down here, that's why the Silurian ran off."

"That creature, do you think it was an alien?" The man who had been strapped next to Amy asked.

"Sorry, what was your name?" I asked him, realising I hadn't even bothered to introduce myself to him yet.

"Mo. I live in the village with my wife and our son." He told me as we started walking down a tunnel.

"I'm Summer, this is Amy and technically, they aren't aliens." I told him as we carried on walking.

"Any more of them, do you think? And if they aren't aliens then what are they? Are they invading Earth?" Mo asked.

"Well, to them, you're the invaders. Silurian's lived on the Earth long before humans did." Amy and Mo both looked at me in shock. "What? You asked."

Amy just shook her head. "I wonder where this leads." She said before pushing a button. We looked through the window on the door and saw a bright light come on in the room.

"Oh, my God, no." Mo cried. I looked at the display panel beside the door and saw that it was monitoring vitals of a human. "It's my son. It's Elliot. What've they done to him? He's in there. We have to get him out. Elliot? Elliot, it's dad." He cried.

"Mo, it's okay, he's alive. We need to leave him in there for now. He is safe, I promise you." I tried my best to reassure the man. We needed to find the Doctor, then he could play the hero and deal with it all.

"All right. We find weapons, get that creature from the lab and force it to release Elliot, yeah?" Mo said eagerly. I could see how desperate he was to get his son out of there safely, I just didn't approve of the 'find weapons' part.

"Yeah. Trust me. We'll get him out." Amy said, noticing that I had drifted off into my own little world of thoughts.

We started moving through the corridors again. I had been calling out for the Doctor, trying to find out where he was and if he was okay, but he wasn't answering me. I was starting to seriously worry, because that wasn't like him. I suddenly stopped in my tracks. "Amy, something's wrong. Something is really…" I closed my eyes tightly as I fell to the floor. I gritted my teeth together, experiencing pain that I couldn't immediately explain.

"Summer! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Amy asked in a panic, kneeling down beside me and putting an arm over my shoulder.

"_Theta, get them to stop. Tell him you're not human._" I cried, hoping that he could hear me.

"_Star, please tell me this isn't hurting you?_"

"_Stop the bloody decontamination!_" I shouted, crippled over in agony. The pain that the Doctor was suffering, I was now feeling as well.

I could hear the Doctor talking to the Silurian that had been ready to dissect both me and Amy. "_I'm not an ape. Look at the scans. Two hearts. Totally different. Totally not ape! Just like Star. Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive. And you're currently killing my Star as well!_"

Suddenly I felt the pain stop and managed to take a deep breath. "_If these stupid, idiotic, Silurians hurt anyone else, I swear to you, I will not hold back. _" I had been angry when they had gassed Amy, when I realised what they had done to Mo and were about to do to Amy. And then seeing Mo's child, they were already walking on very thin ice.

"_Star, just calm down. Everything will be fine._" I shook my head and got back to my feet. I couldn't reply to him, if I did then I would just end up telling him everything that had been going on, and then he would just worry some more.

"Summer? You okay now?" Amy asked, wrapping an arm around me.

"Yeah, I'm good. The Doctor was in a spot of trouble. You know what he's like." Amy just gave me a concerned look, she knew me better, she knew something had been going on. "Amy, I will explain later, but right now, we need to move. We need to find him and get out of here."

Amy nodded at me and we kept on walking. "These chambers are all over the city." I said as we entered another corridor with some kind of glass plates on the wall.

Amy put her hand on something and turned the lights on in one of them. She quickly turned it back off again, but I had enough time to get a good look at what it was. "Cryo-chambers. It's safe, they're all in deep sleep. Amy, turn in on again."

The lights came back on and the glass slid up. I poked my head inside of one and had a good look at the 2 Silurians that was sleeping in the chamber.

"I wonder what they are." Amy was looking at some round discs beneath the Silurian's feet. "The Doctor would know. The Doctor always knows."

"Oi, what am I? Just because I'm not as old as him, doesn't mean I don't know a few things. If you must know, they are transport discs." I told her, folding my arms across my chest in annoyance. How dare she think the Doctor could be better than me, she was meant to be my best friend.

Amy looked at me, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. "Summer, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, honestly I didn't."

I let a smile creep across my face, I knew she was being sincere. "Ah, never mind that. Come on, we really need to go and save the Doctor now."

Amy started at me. "What do you mean, save the Doctor?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? He's about to be executed." He had been shouting in my head, calling for my help. I had told him that Amy and I were on our way, but he was really starting to worry now.

"Even better. Weapons. Come on, now we can fight back." Mo said, taking one of the guns the sleeping Silurian's had been holding. I watched as Amy took the other one, I didn't need a weapon, besides, I didn't agree with them most of the time.

"Which way now?" Mo asked, looking at me for directions.

"Door at the end." I said as I started marching off.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked as she rushed to catch up with me.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Of course I'm sure. I know exactly where the Doctor is. But I want to check something else out first." I told the pair as I led them through the door. We stopped when we reached the edge of the balcony. I looked over and my eyes widened at the amount of Silurian warriors I could see.

"Wow." Mo commented as he saw the vast amount of warriors. "We don't stand a chance."

"Course we do. You got me." I told him with a smile plastered across my face. "Right, now it's time to find the Doctor."

"_Rescue party on its way._" I told the Doctor as we made our way through some more tunnels.

"_Yeah, do you mind hurrying it up? I mean, I'm loving the architect and everything, but I'm not really liking the prospect of being executed._" I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"_Well, just keep them entertained for a for more minutes, we're on our way._" I was trying to reassure him that we really were going to make it in time. I knew where he was, and we were moving as fast as we could to get to him.

"This is our court and our place of execution." I heard a female voice say.

I took that as my cue. "Well, isn't this a lovely place." I said as I strolled into the room. "What do you think, Amy? Oh I do think it's lovely."

Amy was right behind me. "Let them go." She held the gun out in front of her, keeping the Silurians in sight.

"Summer Richards and Amy Pond. Those are girls to rely on." The Doctor called from where he was standing.

"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster." Amy said as Mo appeared through the doorway behind the Doctor and Nasreen. "Now let them go, or I shoot."

I watched as one of the Silurians came closer to us, I stood beside Amy, ready to protect her. The Silurian reached out, grabbed the gun from Amy and pushed both of us to the ground.

"Don't you touch them!" I heard the Doctor shout before hearing the Silurian order Mo to surrender. Hesitantly, Mo let the gun be taken away from him.

"All right, Restac, you've made your point." The Silurian from earlier, the one who had caused my barriers to break down, said. I glared at him and felt the anger in me begin to rise.

"This is now a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh." Restac spat at him. They both hissed at each other a little.

"This isn't the way." Malohkeh informed her before walking out of the room.

"Prepare them for execution." Restac told the others in the room. They were all warriors, like we had seen in the cryo-chambers.

I let myself be dragged over to a column and shackled to it next to the Doctor. I gave him a weak smile. "_Sorry. Didn't quite go to plan. But you know, I can get us all out of these stupid shackles in an instant if you ask._"

The Doctor just smiled at me. "_Not yet._"

"Okay, sorry. As rescues go, didn't live up to its potential." Amy called from where she was bound to the next column.

"I'm glad you're both okay." The Doctor called over to her.

"Me too. Lizard men, though."

"Homo Reptilia. They occupied the planet before humans." I told her, tugging at the shackles a little.

"Now they want it back." The Doctor added. He looked over at me and shook his head. He knew what I was trying to do. I let out a sigh and stopped tugging.

"After they've wiped out the human race." Nasreen called. The Doctor had told me how well she had been taking everything. The trip in the TARDIS, meeting the Silurian's, under other circumstances I may have congratulated her on her calmness. Unfortunately we were facing execution.

"Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest." Amy mumbled. I let out a little laugh, humans and their ignorance being bliss.

The warriors all had their guns aimed at us. "_So, do you actually have a plan or are you making it up as you go along?_" I asked the Doctor. I could sense that he was worried.

"_I may have a slight back up plan._"

"_Would that be me by any chance?_" I asked him, knowing what the answer was going to be. He nodded at me. "_Well, just let me know when you want me to cause utter chaos and it shall be done._"

"Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?" Nasreen asked.

"I'd say, that they are going to contact the humans on the surface, bargain us for the Silurian the Doctor caught earlier." I told her casually.

Nasreen looked at me with wide eyes. "How did you know about that? You weren't there when he caught her."

I shrugged at her. "Long story." I turned my attention back to Restac. "Oh, here we go." I said, as a screen appeared to be floating in mid air before the Silurian.

"Who is the ape leader?" Restac asked. "Who speaks for the apes?" She asked again, a little more forceful the second time.

I watched as Rory walked closer on the screen. "_I speak for the humans. Some of us, anyway._"

"Do you understand who we are?"

"_Sort of. A bit. Not really._" I rolled my eyes. Rory should be able to handle this better.

"We have ape hostages." Restac told him, letting him see us all bound to the columns.

"_Doctor! Amy! Summer!_" Rory called, happy to see us all.

"_Mo! Mo, are you okay?_" A woman asked. I assumed it was Mo's wife, Elliot's mother.

"I'm fine, love. I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home." Mo told her reassuringly.

"_Amy, I thought I'd lost you_" There was so much emotion in Rory's voice. He had been so concerned for Amy when he found out she had been taken by the ground.

"What, cause I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy." Amy told him sarcastically. It brought a smile to my face to hear Amy say that. She was brilliant and staying very calm, we all were.

"Tony Mack!" Nasreen called, seeing the man that had been with her before some of us were pulled underground.

"_Having fun down there?_" He asked.

"Not to interrupt, but just a quick reminder to stay calm." The Doctor called. Everyone already was staying calm. He was more saying it to get everyone back on track and to focus on what was happening.

"Show me Alaya. Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we will kill your friends." Restac threatened. I gave the Doctor a hopeful look, but he just shook his head at me. "One by one."

Mo's wife, Ambrose began to kick up a fuss. She was angry and upset, which was understandable, but she needed to let Rory keep control of the situation up top. "_We are not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family._" Ambrose ordered.

"No. Execute the young girls." The next thing I knew the shackles were being undone and I was forced in the middle of the two columns with Amy.

"_No! No, wait! She's not speaking for us._" Rory was panicking and scared for Amy. It was completely understandable.

"There's no need for this." The Doctor shouted. He was now getting worried as well.

"_Listen, listen. Whatever you want, we'll do it_." Rory assured her, trying to come to some kind of agreement to save Amy and me.

"Aim."

Rory and Amy called each other's names. In my mind I could hear the Doctor talking to me, telling me to stay calm. I was already calm, I knew I could disarm every single Silurian in the room quicker than he could blink. He knew that as well, but he seemed to be taking his time in giving me permission to do it.

The screen vanished. "_I'm going to do this whether you like it or not, Theta. Amy has a gun pointed at her and they are going to execute her. I'm not waiting for your permission anymore._" I told the Doctor sternly in his mind.

Then Restac called the word that was my cue. "Fire!"

But before I had the chance to do anything, before the Silurian's had the chance to fire, an elderly Silurian walked into the room, dressed in some rather elegant robes. It would appear that Malohkeh, the one who wanted to dissect us, had actually saved us.

"Stop!" The Silurian cried, making everyone turn to face him. "You want to start a war while the rest of us sleep, Restac?"

"The apes are attacking us." Restac said defensively, as if it was as simple a matter as that.

"You're out protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them." He ordered. I could sense the tension in the air between the Silurians.

"I do not recognise your authority at this time, Eldane."

"Well then, you must shoot me." Eldane replied, holding his arms out and daring her to fire at him.

Restac charged over to Malohkeh, clearly she was unhappy that she wasn't going to get a chance to kill is all now. I, personally, was rather thankful for not being threatened to be killed any more. "You woke him to undermine me." Restac spat.

"We're not monsters. And neither are they." Malohkeh told her, nodding over towards us.

"What is it about apes you love so much, hmm?" She asked.

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet." Restac growled. Something was telling me that I did not want to be left alone in a room with her.

"Shush now, Restac. Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you." Eldane spoke to her as if he was speaking to a child, which just seemed to annoy Restac even more.

"You'll need me, then we'll see." Restac spat as she walked passed him and out of the large room.

As soon as the Doctor was freed he grabbed hold of me and held me tightly in his arms. Neither of us said anything, we didn't needed to, we were just both glad everyone was safe.

"Summer, do you know what happened earlier?" He asked me, as he brushed some of my hair away from my face. I nodded at him, I knew exactly what had happened. "How are you feeling?"

I shrugged my shoulders at him. I didn't really know how I was feeling, there wasn't the time at the moment to stop and think about it. We just had to keep on pushing forwards, sort out the mess that had been created with the Silurians. "I'll survive. We can talk about it later. Right now I am sure Rory is going frantic thinking that our Amy has been executed."

The Doctor smiled at me. "See, even you're calling her 'our Amy' now." I rolled my eyes at him and lightly whacked him on the chest. The Doctor turned to Eldane. "We need to speak to those on the surface again." Eldane nodded at him and a moment later the holographic screen was back.

"Rory!" I called, getting his attention. "Hello."

"_Summer, you're okay. Where's Amy?_" There was panic in his voice still.

"She's fine. Look, here she is." The Doctor said as Amy stepped into view for a moment.

"Just keeping you on your toes." She told him before walking out of view again.

"No time to chat." The Doctor told him, wrapping his arm around my waist and keeping me close to him. "Listen, you need to get down here. Go to the drill storeroom. There's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble technology. It's how they travel and frankly, it's pretty cool." I couldn't help but smile at the Doctor's enthusiasm. "Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash. Hurry up." The Doctor told him before the screen went off again.

The Doctor took me over to one side, away from everyone else. I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the ground. Now that we were out of danger, I knew what he was going to mention. "Summer, what happened?" I hated the way he was speaking so softly to me.

"Well, Amy and I were put in these glass pods, we were gassed, then we were about to be dissected." I told him casually, still staring at my feet. "I think that about sums it up."

The Doctor frowned at me. "Summer, that's not what I mean, and you know it." I could hear the disappointment in his voice from the fact that I wasn't telling him what he wanted to know.

"Doctor, is now really the time?" I asked him, with a sigh.

"Yes, now is the time. You need to tell me, something happened before, and I want to know why it happened." He told me firmly. I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to talk myself out of this one.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what I needed to tell him. "The gas that they used to sedate Amy didn't exactly have the desired affect on me. It infected my mind and the barriers I had in place started to crumble. I tried to stop it, I really did, honestly, but I couldn't. That stupid gas made it impossible for me to even think straight."

The Doctor frowned at me as I stopped talking. "And the rest."

I groaned, he seemed to know me just that little bit too well. "You know the rest. You know what happened, you felt it. Why do I have to even spell it out?"

He let out a sigh, and not a good one at that. "I know it started, you're right I felt it. I felt the bond forming again, but it stopped before it was completed."

My face fell the moment he said that. "What do you mean, it stopped? Stopped when?" Something wasn't right, I didn't feel it stopping, it can't have stopped.

He frowned at me. "Right after you thought about the day that we first met." I didn't know whether to be upset or happy. I had managed to stop the bond from forming for the Doctor, he hadn't seen my memories. "Star, what are you not telling me?" The Doctor asked cautiously after we stood there in silence for a few minutes.

"Umm… nothing. Really, it's nothing." I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to say.

Then it dawned on the Doctor. "You felt the decontamination on me didn't you?" I didn't answer him, I just held his gaze. Once he realised I wasn't going to answer him, he turned to Amy. "Amy, I need you to be honest with me, at any point did Summer suffer any kind of unexplainable pain?"

I closed my eyes, and prayed that Amy wouldn't tell him. "Umm, yeah she did. She said you were in a spot of trouble."

I felt someone's hands on the sides of my face and opened my eyes to see the Doctor staring at me intensely. "You're bonded with me now, aren't you?" He asked me softly. All I could do was nod at him. It hadn't happened by choice, my mind was weak at the time. "Why didn't you tell me that when it happened?"

I shrugged at him. "Because we had other problems to deal with, and we still do." I told him, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic.

"We still need to talk about this." He was still speaking to me softly whilst cupping my face in his hands.

"I know. And we will, but not right now." The Doctor nodded at me before quickly giving me a light kiss on the lips and turning around to face Amy, Nasreen and Eldane.

"Let's get this show on the road." He proclaimed, spinning around on his heels. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him, he really was mad.

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**A/N: And thats the start of Cold Blood. So, what did you all think? What do you think is going to happen next? I really didn't want to kill Rory off, I wanted to save him.**

**Anyway, remember to review. Reviews make me smile and write even better. Honest, they do! **

**Pippa.**


	19. Cold Blood Pt2

**Disclaimer: Today actually really is my birthday. **

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. Glad to know you're still enjoying the story. Keep reviewing.**

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Amy, Nasreen and Eldane were sitting at the large table in the centre of the room. The Doctor and I stood at the end of the table, his arm around my waist as we looked at the humans and Silurian.

"I'd say you've got a fair bit to talk about." I said, watching the nervous trio as we awaited the arrival of the others.

"How so?" Eldane asked.

The Doctor smiled. "You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it."

Eldane frowned at the two of us. "Are you authorised to negotiate on behalf of humanity?"

The Doctor looked at him comically, I had to keep myself from laughing at him. "Us? No. But they are." He pointed at the two humans, gawping at him.

"What?" Nasreen asked in shock.

"No, we're not."

I let a huge grin take over my face. "Course you are."

"Amy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet? Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?" The Doctor asked, grinning away himself and giving me a happy squeeze.

Amy quickly got up and stood beside us. "Is this what happens, in the future? The planet gets shared? Is that what we do?" She asked in almost a whisper.

Nasreen looked at us in confusion. "Er, what are you talking about?"

"Oh Nasreen, sorry. It's probably worth mentioning at this stage, we sort of travel in time a bit." I told her, as if it was the most common thing in the universe. Well for me and the Doctor, it actually was.

"Anything else?" She asked, not knowing that I wasn't human.

The Doctor must have sense what I was thinking. "Summer isn't human." He told her, earning a nudge from me.

"There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are." I told her excitedly.

"This is not one of them. This is an opportunity. A temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you, here, now. So do good, for humanity, and for Earth." He was beaming away, and so was I. The prospect of humans and the Silurians living together, working together, it was an amazing opportunity.

"Right. No pressure there, then." Amy said, looking slightly worried.

"We can't share the planet." Nasreen declared. "Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap."

"Come on. Be extraordinary." Nasreen gave up trying to protest with the Doctor. "Okay bringing thing to order. The first meeting of the representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. Ha! Never said that before." He turned to me, grinning away. "That's fab. Carry on."

I spun around and turned to face Mo. "Come on then, let's go and get your son."

"Humans and their predecessors, shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it." The Doctor said as he grabbed my hand and we started walking with Mo and Malohkeh.

The whole time we walked, I stayed silent. The Doctor seemed a lot more at ease with Malohkeh then I was. He had almost killed the Doctor, would have killed me as well, the things he had done, I didn't approve of. It may have only been for research, but I didn't like it, I would never do that to another species, so why did they have to do it?

"_I'm not exactly thrilled about what he has done either._" I had let a few thoughts stray and the Doctor saw them. I was getting too distracted too easily. "_Star, you need to stop worrying so much._"

I ignored the Doctor's comment and carried on walking to the stasis pod where we had seen Mo's son earlier. "Elliot. There you are." I said smiling through the glass and at the boy, even though I knew he couldn't hear or see me.

"If you've harmed him in any way…" Mo threatened Malohkeh.

"Of course not. I only store the young." He insisted.

I frowned at him. "But why?" I asked. Just because I wasn't happy with the situation and didn't agree with what he had been doing, didn't mean I wasn't curious as to why he was doing it in the first place.

"I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate so I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface."

"You've been down here working by yourself, all alone?" I asked. I was starting to soften for the Silurian a little. It couldn't have been easy for him.

"My family, through the millennia, and for the last three hundred years, just me." He said before turning to face Mo. "I never meant to harm your child." He insisted again.

"Malohkeh, I rather love you." The Doctor said, beaming away at him.

They bumped their fists before Malohkeh touched the panel on the wall. "It's safe. We can wake him."

I watched as he entered the room and started to unhook all the strange wires that were connected to the child. "_I'm glad he would never hurt a child._" I told the Doctor. I knew he was worrying about me and how I was feeling. I knew he needed some reassurance that I wasn't going to do anything… stupid.

"_So am I. It's okay. I was angry at first as well. After what he done to you, I was ready to unleash the Oncoming Storm._"

I turned to look at the Doctor and frowned. "_Why would you do that? That's just ridicules._"

"_Because you were being hurt. I'm never going to just stand by and watch someone hurt you._" I knew he was being serious, I knew he meant every word he was saying.

I looked and saw Malohkeh had stepped out of the pod and Mo was now in there explaining to his son where we were. The Doctor seemed to have noticed as well.

"Elliot. I'm sorry. I took my eye off you." The Doctor said, feeling guilty and blaming himself for the child being taken.

"It's okay. I forgive you." Elliot said with a smile.

The three of them stepped out of the pod and I smiled at Elliot. "Hello, Elliot. I'm Summer. Your dad has been brilliant. I think, when you get home, you should read him a story. What do you think?" Elliot nodded at me, smiling, which made me smile as well.

Malohkeh turned to us, himself smiling. "You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up." We both nodded at him and started walking back towards the room where we had left Eldane, Amy and Nasreen.

"Okay. Now I'm starting to see it." Nasreen said happily.

"Oh yeah." Amy added, just as we walked into the room.

The Doctor was still smiling away, his arm around my waist. "Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences."

The Doctor was interrupted when we heard an odd noise. "The transport has returned. Your friends are here." Eldane announced.

It didn't take long for Rory, Ambrose and Tony to appear in the doorway. "Here they are." The Doctor announced happily, seeing everyone there.

"Something's wrong." I said, seeing that Tony was carrying something wrapped up in a blanket.

"Doctor, what's he carrying?" Amy asked as she spotted it as well.

"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this." The Doctor pleaded. I could feel his emotions. He was upset, shocked and angry. He had trusted them to do the right thing, and they hadn't.

We both watched as he lay down the body wrapped up in the blanket. The Doctor bent down and pulled the blanket away, revealing the Silurian beneath it.

"What did you do?" I asked quietly. I knew what was under the blanket, or rather, who was under the blanket, without even having to look. It was Alaya, the Silurian that the Doctor had captured and hoped to use as a bargaining chip.

"It was me. I did it." Ambrose said, making us all look at her in horror. Her son was especially shocked and backed away from his mother. "I just wanted you back."

The Doctor quickly turned to speak to Eldane. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this" He told him softly. I could still feel his emotions, he truly was sorry.

"This is our planet!" Ambrose cried angrily. I could understand how she wanted to protect her family, to get them back. But to murder, there were always other ways.

"We had a chance here." The Doctor told her, spinning around to face her.

"Leave us alone."

"In future, when you talk about this, you tell people that there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity." The Doctor spat as he strode over to Ambrose. I was quickly behind him, knowing that his frustration was rising.

I could see the tears well up in Ambrose eye's and the fire burning in the Doctors. I slipped my hand into his. "_Theta, you need to calm down. Now is not the time to be the Oncoming Storm. That wouldn't help anyone. We need to calm the situation, not make it worse._" I warned him.

"_You're right. I'm sorry. But why didn't Rory stop her? Why did this happen?_"

"_I am sure that Rory done everything he could to avoid this. Don't blame him._" I knew I had to do everything I could to keep the Doctor calm.

Restac marched into the room, flanked with armed soldiers. They surrounded us and wasted no time in aiming their weapons at all of us. Restac walked straight over to the body on the floor and pulled the blanket away from it, revealing her sisters face. Her cried and whimpers followed, she was grieving for the loss of Alaya. I tightened my grip on the Doctor's hand, I knew thing's were now going to be even more difficult.

"And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?" Restac spat, as she covered her sister's face and looked over at us.

"One woman. She was scared for her family. She is not typical." The Doctor assured her.

Restac stood up and glared at Ambrose. "I think she is."

"One person let us down, but there is a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there." The Doctor insisted. He was trying to get through to the Silurians, make them understand that humans really were better than what they had just seen from Ambrose. "You were building something here. Come on. An alliance could work."

"It's too late for that, Doctor." We all turned to Ambrose.

"Why? Ambrose, what else have you done?" I asked her. I knew I wasn't going to like the answer, I knew none of us were.

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in…" She pulled out a stopwatch and looked at it. "Fifteen minutes."

We were all shocked. That drill would cause so much damage, and with all of us down there, others were going to get hurt. Ambrose had no idea what she had just done.

"What choice did I have?" Tony asked. "They had Elliot."

"Don't do this. Don't call their bluff." The Doctor warned them. I was starting to feel really uncomfortable. The amount of guns that were being pointed at us were not helping.

"Let us go back. And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone." Ambrose just wanted to leave with her family.

Restac stared at the woman for a few moments. "Execute her." She shouted.

My eyes widened as I saw everything that was going to happen next. "No." I cried, rushing forward and grabbing Ambrose, pulling her out of the way just as the Silurians started to fire.

"Everybody, back to the lab. Run." The Doctor shouted as everyone ran past him and out of the room. I pushed Ambrose away with the rest and hung back a little, waiting for the Doctor. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and held it up in front of him. "This is a deadly weapon. Stay back." He said, as the guns all seemed to spark before they were dropped to the floor.

"Doctor!" I shouted, pulling him out of the way as one of the Silurians lashed their tongue out at him. "Come on, let's move." I dragged him along, avoiding shots from the guns at the same time.

"Take everyone to the lab." The Doctor shouted as we saw the others turn a corner further ahead. As we turned the corner, everyone seemed to be standing there waiting. I let out a sigh. Why did no one ever do as they were told?

"We'll cover you. Go, move!" I told them, giving Rory a little shove to help him along.

The Doctor frowned at me. "You need to go with them." I shook my head at him, he wanted to hold up a whole army on his own, I was not going to let him do that.

"And let you have all the fun? You must be joking." I said, grinning away at him as he held out his screwdriver, ready to defend.

He eyed me cautiously. "What are you planning on doing?"

I didn't answer him, I just carried on smiling away. Our attention was drawn back when Restac and several guards bolted around the corner.

The Doctor used his screwdriver to disarm the first two guards as Restac walked between them and towards us. "Ah, ah. Stop right there, or I'll use my very deadly weapon again. One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you, now. This ends here."

Restac snarled at us. "No. It only ends with our victory."

I glared at her, knowing that she was never going to back down. "Like we said, one warning." I said, before releasing some of the built up energy I had to disarm the other Silurians. "Move it, Doctor." I grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him along with me towards the lab. "I take it you have a plan?"

"I have a thing." He relied as we turned another corner.

"Oh, not a thing. Is it a thing in progress?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

"Yes, it's a thing in progress. Stop complaining about the thing." I couldn't help but giggle a little.

The Doctor quickly sonicked the door to close and lock as we entered the lab. "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company. Amy, keep reminding me how much time I haven't got." He tossed the stopwatch over to Amy.

"Oi, how much time we haven't got. Not on your own, remember that." I told him sharply. He sometimes needed reminding that he wasn't on his own anymore. He had spent too long along, he just wasn't used to have someone to be by his side the whole time, through everything.

"Um, 12 minutes till drill impact." Amy called.

"Tony Mack. Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils. What are you hiding?" The Doctor said as he approached him where he was sitting.

Tony pulled open the top of his shirt to reveal green veins spreading out from his shoulder and across his chest.

Nasreen gasped when she saw it. "Tony, what happened?"

"Alaya's sting. She said there's no sure. I'm dying, aren't I?" Tony asked.

"Nah, you're not dying. You're mutating." I told him, watching the Doctor scan him with the screwdriver then check the results on a computer on the control unit.

"How can I stop it?"

The Doctor looked at me, hoping I was thinking the same thing he was. I nodded at him and a smile crept across his face. "Decontamination programme. Might work. Don't know."

"Eldane, can you run the programme on Tony?" I asked, looking at the Silurian. Before he could answer Mo informed us that we were surrounded by the soldiers.

"So, question is, how do we stop the drill given we can't get there in time? Plus, also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded?" The Doctor asked as he started pacing a little.

I watched as Eldane took Tony to the machine to start the decontamination on him then looked over to Nasreen. "Nasreen, how do you feel about an energy pulse channelled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?" I asked her, biting down on my lip.

She looked at me in shock. "To blow up my life's work?"

I looked at her sadly. She had worked so hard on drilling so far down, and now, it was time to blow it up. "Yes. Sorry, no nice way of putting that."

"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city in, er…" She looked over at Amy.

"11 minutes 44 seconds."

"Yes. Squeaky bum time." The Doctor said, a smile in his face. I rolled my eyes at him, he was cutting it fine, and he knew it.

"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels, so we have to be out and on the surface by then." Nasreen was right. We needed to work fast if we all wanted to get out of this alive.

"But we can't get past Restac's troops." Rory pointed out.

"I can help with that." We all turned to Eldane. "Toxic Fumigation. An emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."

I looked at him sadly. "You could end up killing your own people."

"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac." He informed me. I couldn't help but wish that there was another way, but I knew there wasn't.

"Eldane, are you sure about this?" I asked him, sensing how the Doctor was feeling. He was the one who had to carry the burden of our own species, he didn't want Eldane to suffer that as well.

"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."

"No." The Doctor said sadly. There had been hope, so much hope that something wonderful would happen.

"But maybe it should be." I mumbled, standing next to the Doctor, holding his hand and hoping he would catch on to what I was thinking.

He turned and smiled at me. "You're right. So, here's the deal. Everybody listening. Eldane, you activate shutdown. I'll amend the system, set your alarm for a thousand years time. A thousand year to sort out the planet. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow make it known. This planet is to be shared."

Elliot smiled. "Yeah. I get you."

"Course you get it, Elliot. You're brilliant." I told him, beaming away at him. He was a bright kid, dyslexia was not going to stop him from being brilliant.

"9 minutes, 7 seconds." Amy called.

"Yes. Fluid controls." The Doctor announced, dropping my hand and turning back to the control unit.

"Your favourite." I told him, giving him a little nudge.

He smiled at me. "Energy pulse. Timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade. Need to cancel it out quickly."

"Fumigation pre-launching." Eldane announce, working on the control unit himself.

"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor." Rory was right. We were running out of time very, very fast.

"Ah ha, super squeaky bum time." The Doctor was still smiling away. It was infectious, I couldn't stop smiling either.

"_Do you have to smile when we are in such a difficult situation?_" I asked him, knowing that he was actually loving the danger. He always loved the danger.

"_Yes._" That was exactly the reply that I was expecting to get from him.

"Get ready to run for your lives." I warned everyone, knowing what was going to happen soon.

"But the decontamination programme on your friend hasn't started yet." Eldane said in concern.

"Well, go. All of you, go." Tony told us, shooing us all to leave the room. I noticed Nasreen standing beside him, something was telling me Tony wasn't going to be the only one to stay.

I pulled the Doctor to one side as the family argued before saying their goodbyes. Tony was going to stay with the Silurians.

"_Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Tony Mack will be able to wake up with the Silurians, keep the prophecy alive and true._" I knew he was worried, but there was really nothing to worry about.

"_I know, you're right. You're always right._" He gave my hand a squeeze.

The lights dimmed down and a siren began to wail. The toxic fumigation had started. The soldiers that had been guarding the door, readying and waiting for us, had begun to disperse. Soon enough the corridor was clear and we were ready to go.

"Okay, everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run." The Doctor opened the door with his sonic screwdriver before turning back to Eldane. "I'm sorry."

"I thought for a moment, our race and the humans…"

"Yeah, us too." I said quietly. The Doctor gave my hand another squeeze.

"Summer, Doctor, we've got less than 6 minutes." Amy warned us.

"Go, we'll be right behind you." I told her and watched as they all started to run off.

The Doctor turned to face Nasreen. "Let's go."

"I'm not coming either." She said, making the Doctor stop in his tracks and turn to face her, also taking me with him.

"What?"

"We're going to hibernate with them, me and Tony." Nasreen told him, standing next to Tony who was strapped into the same thing Amy, Mo and I had been stuck in earlier.

"But, Nasreen, you…"

"No, this is perfect." Nasreen said, cutting off the Doctor. "I don't want to go. I've got what I was digging for. I can't leave when I've only just found it." I turned when I heard Amy calling our names. "Thank you, Doctor, Summer."

"The pleasure was all mine." The Doctor told her, that smile of his returning to his face, before he hugged her tightly. Then it was my turn, and I hugged her just as tightly as the Doctor had.

"Come back and look for us." She called as we started running out.

"Oh, you bet we will." I called as the Doctor griped my hand tighter and we started running. "Blimey, how far away did you park?" I moan as we kept charging through the corridors.

"Oh, moan about my flying, moan about my parking. Anything else you feel like moaning about?"

"Actually, now that you mention it…" The Doctor rolled his eyes at me. I couldn't help but giggle a little. It was so easy to annoy him some times.

It didn't take us long to catch up to everyone else. They were almost at the TARDIS when we joined them. The Doctor dropped my hand so that he could reach into his pocket to get the key out.

"No questions just get in. And yes, I know it's big. Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left again. Get yourself fixed up. Come on. 5 minutes and counting." The Doctor said, giving the family a helpful nudge into the impossible blue box.

I turned around and my mouth fell open. "No, no way." I whispered.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory all turned to look at what I had seen. "Not here." I heard the Doctor whisper.

Amy was stood there in horror. "The crack in my bedroom wall."

"And the Byzantium." I flinched when the Doctor mentioned that. There had been so much about our time there that had bothered me. I hadn't exactly been very nice to River by the end of it all, she was only doing what she thought was best. Really, I should never have been that nasty to her.

"All through the universe, rips in the continuum." The Doctor continued, stepping closer to the crack.

"_Don't you dare get too close to that thing._" I told him firmly. I remember what had happened to the clerics, they were erased, forgotten, never existed.

"Some sort of space-time cataclysm. An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the universe. But what?"

"4 minutes 50. We have to go." Amy said, looking at the stopwatch again.

"The Angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew. Everybody knows except me." The Doctor moaned. He was getting very frustrated again now.

"_Theta, I don't know either. Now isn't the time. We really have to go._"

"But where there's an explosion, there's shrapnel." The Doctor said, getting a red handkerchief out of his pocket.

"Doctor, you cant put your hand in there," Rory said. I nodded at him, I completely agreed.

"Why not?" He said, before putting his hand in there. Then he cried in pain slightly, a pain that I felt. "I've got something." He pulled his arm out and wrapped whatever it was that he had pulled out in the handkerchief.

"What is it?" Amy asked curiously. Something was telling me that I didn't really want to know what it was.

"I don't know." The Doctor said, before I noticed Restac dragging herself into the room.

The Doctor was quickly on his feet. "She was there when the gas started. She must have been poisoned." Amy was right.

"You." Restac spat, looking only at the Doctor.

"Okay, get in the TARDIS, all of you." I ignored the Doctor, as did Amy and Rory.

"You did this." Restac said, raising her gun as best she could. I noticed the Doctor reaching into his jacket pocket, fumbling to get his sonic screwdriver out to disarm the Silurian. I was ready as well, I could feel some energy build and was ready to stop Restac.

Before either of us could do anything, Rory called out the Doctor's name and pushed him out of the way as Restac fired, taking the full blast. A moment later the gun exploded, thanks to me.

We rushed to Rory's side. He was crying out in pain. "Rory, can you hear me?" I asked him in a bit of a panic. If I had been faster, if I hadn't have hesitated, if I had just gotten on and blown up the stupid gun, Rory wouldn't have been shot.

"I don't understand." Rory finally managed to say.

"Shush. Don't talk. Doctor, Summer, is he okay? We have to get him into the TARDIS." Amy insisted.

"We were on the hill. I can't die here."

"Don't say that." Amy whispered, the tears threatening to fall from her face. She gripped hold of his hands tighter.

"You're so beautiful. I'm sorry." Rory told her, before letting out his final breath.

"Doctor, help him." Amy cried. I put an arm around her, then I noticed the light creeping out from the crack and getting closer to Rory.

"_Theta, the light…_" He looked over to the crack and saw the light swirling around Rory's feet.

"Amy, move away from the light. If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history." I told her, trying to pull her away from Rory's body. She refused to move. "Amy, move away now." I said, a little more forcefully.

"No. I am not leaving him. We have to help him." She said, still gripping hold of Rory's hands.

"The light's already around him. We can't help him." The Doctor said sorrowfully. There really was nothing we could do now. The light was going to take him and we couldn't stop it.

"I am not leaving him." She cried.

"We have to, Amy. I'm sorry." I said as I pulled at her even harder. The Doctor came up behind her and started pulling at her again.

"No!" She shouted, still refusing to move. Even with the pair of us pulling at her, she was fighting hard to stay with Rory. I looked at her hands, still holding her fiancé, suddenly her hands were free and the Doctor was pulling her to the TARDIS.

"Get off me. No!" She cried as she was pulled into the TARDIS.

I shut the door behind me as I entered, standing there and blocking Amy's way as the Doctor sonicked the door locked. "No. No. No. No. No. Let me out. Please let me out. I need to get to Rory. That light. If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You can't let that happen." Amy cried as the Doctor walked slowly around the console.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked as she noticed the time rotor start up. "Doctor, no. No. No. No." I stood by the doors, watching the scanner and seeing Rory be completely taken over by the light while Amy tried to fight with the Doctor to stop him from piloting the TARDIS. "Doctor, we can't just leave him there."

The Doctor finally managed to get her under control, to a certain extent. It was going to be difficult to calm her down. I charged up to them, knowing that he needed help and Amy needed support. "Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever." The Doctor said, holding Amy's arms and trying to get through to her.

"When we were on the Byzantium, I still remembered the clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said."

"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing." The Doctor was struggling, and I knew I needed to step in and help him.

"Don't tell me it's going to be okay. You have to make it okay." Amy pleaded.

"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy."

I grabbed hold of Amy and dragged her over to the chair. "Tell me about Rory, yeah? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, you have to listen to me, keep concentrating. You can do this." I told her, both of us were gripping each other's hands tightly as she sat in the chair and I kneeled down in front of her.

"I can't."

"Yes you can, of course you can. You're Amelia Pond. We can't help you unless you do. Come on, we can still save his memory, Amy. Please, you can't let anything distract you, remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory is only alive in your memory. You have to keep hold of him." I didn't know if I was getting through to her or not, but I had to keep trying. "Do not let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind."

Suddenly we were all thrown to the floor. I looked over and saw a small red box on the floor. The Doctor had noticed it as well and was also staring at it. We both knew what was inside.

"What were you saying?" Amy asked in her normal tone. She was acting as if nothing had happened.

"_She… She's forgotten…_" I whispered to the Doctor. For a moment then I thought we had managed to help her, to keep his memory alive.

"I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad." Mo called as the Doctor helped me to stand up. I watched as he pocketed the box with Amy's engagement ring inside. I was close to letting the tears fall, but I knew it wasn't the time.

"Doctor, 5 seconds till it all goes up." Amy said, looking at the watch again.

We all ran out of the TARDIS just in time to see the drill explode. All of Nasreen's hard work was gone, but she had something better now, something more worthwhile. We said goodbye to Mo, Elliot and Ambrose before heading back to the TARIDS. The Doctor had refused to let go of my hand, and I had refused to let go of his.

"You're both very quiet." Amy said as we stopped outside the TARDIS. "Oh, hey look. There I am again. Hello me!" She called, waving to herself.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked her, noticing a slight change in her expression.

"I thought I saw someone else there for a second. I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?" Amy said cheerily.

"You go in. Just need to fix this lock. Keeps jamming." The Doctor said, opening the door for her.

"You boys and your locksmithery. You coming Summer?"

I glanced at the Doctor. "Nah, need to help this one fix the lock don't I? It only keeps jamming because he won't let me fix it." I told her smiling away. I watched her go inside and close the door behind her.

I leaned against the side, frowning at the Doctor. "Come on then. Let's get this over with." I said to him. He seemed to know what I was talking about and pulled the handkerchief out of his pocket. He slowly unwrapped it and both of us looked horrified when we saw it. "No… that can't be…" I whispered.

He held a charred piece of wood up against the TARDIS, it was an exactly match to the notice on the door. It was a piece of the TARDIS.

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**A/N: So, what did you guys think? Like I said before, I hated having to kill Rory. **

**Anyway, the next chapter is an original, and a little bit more is learnt about Summer and her past. **

**Okay, let me know what you thought, because I love you all so much and your reviews brighten up my grey and miserable days. **

**Pippa.**


	20. Worth The Bond

**Disclaimer: I own a fez, but not Doctor Who.**

**A/N: Sorry for the late updates, I haven't been too well and the computer hasn't either. I know you have waited a long time for this chapter so here it is.**

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We were all sitting around in the TARDIS kitchen, enjoying a well-deserved cup of tea. Amy was chatting away, going on about different things, stories from when she was growing up back in Leadworth. Every now and then the Doctor and I would notice Amy go quiet, and sad. We both knew why, she was realising something, or rather someone, was missing. It was heart breaking to see it all.

I was glad when Amy finally decided that it was time for her to head off to bed. I loved Amy, she was becoming more and more like a sister to me, we were that close. But she was different now, without Rory having ever been in her life, there was something so different about her but so hard to point out what. The whole thing was making my head hurt.

The Doctor and I stayed in the kitchen for a while longer after Amy had left, but we still stayed in silence. There was so much that both of us were thinking about. Not only was I thinking about Amy and the now lost Rory, but I was also thinking about the stupid bond. I knew that the Doctor was going to want to talk about it, and I didn't have the energy to fight or argue with him.

It didn't take the Doctor long to start the conversation on the topic I wanted to avoid. "We need to talk." He said quietly.

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know." I honestly didn't want to start the conversation, I would be quite happy to just forget about it and move on, but the Doctor would never be able to do that.

We sat there in silence again for a few minutes. I had started playing with my hands on the table while the Doctor just watched me closely. "Star, why did you stop the bond?" He asked as he reached out for my hands.

"I… I didn't realise that I had. It only stopped for you because I managed to get some barriers back up before it went too far I guess. But it didn't stop for me, because you always leave your mind so open." Now that I was bonded to the Doctor, I could understand how he was feeling better, or at least I should have been able to. I should have been able to hear him in my mind constantly, I should be able to feel him there, but I couldn't. I looked up at him and frowned. "Closing yourself off now isn't going to make any difference." I told him.

"No, it's not. But you weren't ready to bond yet, and I should have been more careful. If I had closed my mind of just the little bit, then none of this would of happened." The Doctor was starting to blame himself for what had happened, and I was not going to let him do that.

"Stop it, Doctor. None of this was your fault." I told him firmly. I could tell from his expression that he didn't believe me.

"I should have realised, I should have known. You were hurt because of me."

"We can't change it now. What's done is done. All we can do is keep moving forward." I told him. I didn't blame him for any of it. He should have already known that, but he was finding it all so hard to deal with.

I looked at him and let out a sigh. "Doctor, there's more things that I need to tell you. I haven't been completely honest with you."

The Doctor frowned at me. "What about?"

I took a deep breath, pulling myself together to tell him exactly what had happened to me back home. "Well, you remember I told you how I regenerated and had the same appearance as my father?" The Doctor nodded at me. "I said that it was because I used my power against Rassilon, and it sort of backfired." He nodded again. "That wasn't entirely true."

"What do you mean? Star, tell me what happened."

I hesitated, trying to think of the best way to tell him. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go into too much detail, it wasn't something I wanted to remember. "I had been taken to the High Council, they were once again going to try to convince me to help them. I knew that I was going to refuse, and it seemed that Rassilon had come to that conclusion as well. I was led to a room and…" I closed my eyes, trying to force the memory further back into my mind. I didn't need to be seeing it as I was explaining it.

"I was strapped to this… table. At first, nothing much happened. I was just left there alone in the dark. Rassilon would come every day and ask me to join them, and every day I refused. After about a week, he didn't come alone." I felt the Doctor's grip on my hands tighten.

"Just take your time. I'm not going anywhere." He said, doing his best to reassure me and keep me calm.

"They… umm… they started to do different… experiments on me." I saw a flash of anger go across the Doctor's face. He still had his mind completely closed off. "They were trying to find a way to harness my energy, to be able to use it without me being in control. Once they finally worked out that they couldn't do that, they decided to do something else."

I could see the anger and horror still on the Doctor's face. I was glad that he wasn't able to reach any of the people who had been involved with what happened, because the Doctor would be after them in a heartbeat. "Rassilon, he basically had them torture me. I was poisoned, beaten, electrocuted, you name it, and they tried it."

"How… how long did this go on for?" The Doctor's voice was thick with emotion.

"You really don't want to know, Doctor, trust me." I told him softly. If he knew, it would just make him feel even worse, and I couldn't bare that.

"Star, tell me how long."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Around 4 Earth years." I heard the Doctor gasp. "I told you that you wouldn't want to know."

I kept my eyes closed, forcing back the tears that I knew were trying to form. "How did you last that long?" He asked me softly.

"I just kept thinking of you. Of all the wonderful adventures you were having. That's what kept me going through it all." It was true, the thought of him and what he was doing was the one thing that made me push through all the suffering.

"What caused the regeneration?" The Doctor asked after a few minutes silence.

"I was getting weaker, and I had started to just hope that they would kill me, but I knew they wouldn't do that. I was too valuable to them, too much of an asset. One day when Rassilon came in, I decided I was going to end it all. I had enough energy built up to blow up several solar systems, I decided that it was time Rassilon found out what I could really do."

"You released the energy against Rassilon, then what?"

"He used his glove for protect, didn't even singe him. But I couldn't stop the energy. I thought about how much damage it would do if I let it all escape so I turned it in on myself. I forced the energy back and that caused the regeneration."

"That much energy could have killed you. Permanently." I didn't like the Doctor's tone. He was angry and now it was directed at me.

"You think I didn't know that?" I spat at him. "I had to make that decision. I had to decide if my life was worth more than all those that I could destroy if I let it carry on."

"That was a stupid thing to do." He shouted, his voice was still telling me how angry he was.

"Like you've never done anything stupid." I retorted, feeling my own anger start to build, as well as the energy. "With me dead, they didn't have a weapon. I couldn't be use to kill anyone or anything. The universe is safer without me."

"Don't you dare say that! Don't you ever say that!" The Doctor shouted at me, throwing my hands away from him and getting up out of his chair.

"Why not? Truth hurts, doesn't it Doctor? You might be the Oncoming Storm, but I'm the biggest threat to any universe." I said to him, pushing my chair away and letting it fall to the floor.

"Stop it." He spat, turning to face me.

I couldn't hold my anger in any longer, he needed to understand the truth about who and what I really was. He needed to be reminded. "I'm not Star, I'm THE Star. More dangerous than any explosive. More threatening than any gun. More destructive than any war."

"I said stop it." The Doctor shouted, grabbing the tops of my arms. "You're my Star, who loves to see other planets and races. My Star who always looked up to the stars and dreamed of seeing them closer. My Star who would do anything to protect her friends and the people she loved and cared about. That's who you are." He let out a sigh as he finished his rant and his eyes softened. "You're my Star, my bond, the most important person in the universe to me."

He ran his hands down my arms and clenched my hands tightly. "I will never, let anyone try to use you as a weapon again. Because that isn't who you are."

I let out a sigh. Why did our conversations about things like this always turn into us shouting at each other? I could only be grateful that so far, neither of us had lost it to the point where we someone ended up being hurt.

"I would do anything to protect you. I am not going to lose you again." He opened his mind back up to me and I knew in an instant that he meant every word that he said.

"I don't want to lose you again either. Every time you left, all I could think was that you weren't coming back for me."

"But I always came back, didn't I? Even when you were trapped in that stupid Void Cavern, I still came back for you." I nodded at him, still holding back the stupid tears.

"It was too late then. I was already there, and I gave up all hope of ever seeing you again. I was glad that the bond was broken, because you wouldn't have to suffer the pain that I was going through." I told him. I knew that if the bond hadn't broken, he would have ended up doing anything possible to find me. He would have turned into the Oncoming Storm, and the end result would not have been nice.

"And now we're together again. All the bad stuff that has happen, that doesn't matter. All that matters is the here and now, all the good times we have to come still." He told my softly and I nodded at him.

Both of us had things from the past that we would never be able to forget. His was the ending of the Time War, mine was the things I had done and been through. They were always going to be there, scratching away at the back of our minds, but nothing was ever going to change what had happened.

After a few minutes silence I decided to move things along. "So, where are we off to next?" I asked, pulling away from the original reason for our heated conversation.

"Don't know yet. But we aren't going anywhere until we have finished talking here." The Doctor told me, picking up the chair I had knocked over and gently forcing me to sit back down.

"What else do you want to talk about? The fact that bow ties are cool? Or that fish fingers and custard really is a delicious meal?" The Doctor just frowned at me, he knew exactly what I was trying to do.

He let out a sigh. "Come on, Star. You know what I'm talking about. What we were talking about before. We need to sort this out, now." He insisted.

I put my head in my hands, trying to think of a way to escape this situation. "Do we really have to do this now? Can we not just have a few days to just think about things?"

"No, Star, and you know why. You know what happens to someone with only a one way bond don't you?"

I nodded my head at him. "Yeah, I do. The person who is bonded, they… um… they…" I couldn't find the words to finish my sentence.

"They can't cope. Too many thoughts and feelings trapped in one mind. It kills them." The Doctor took hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly. "I can't let you do that."

"And I can't let you suffer what I had to. I don't want you to have to see everything I had to live through, to feel all that pain and suffering. You've had enough of your own to deal with, you don't need to add mine to it." I told him, trying to stop my voice from shaking.

"You've already had to go through mine. And that was over a hundred years worth. You've kept a lot from me since we were last together, but is it really worth all of this?" I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew that the last thing he wanted was for something to happen to me.

"I don't want to see you hurting any more. I can't do that to you, I just won't." I told him. I was going to be stubborn, as always.

"And I'm not going to just let you kill yourself." He said sternly. "I need you, Star. Now that I have you again, I am not letting you go for anything in the universe. We've just lost Rory, and because of that, our Amy has changed. Please, I need you."

I let out a sigh, I had been waiting for him to bring up the loss of Rory. Rory had actually been pretty smart, and sensible, where Amy liked to just rush on in with the Doctor. I respected him for that, he looked before he leaped, unlike the other two.

"I need you too, but I can't do this right now." I told him. My head was aching and all I wanted to do was go and get some sleep.

"Well, I'm not leaving you alone until you do. So, wherever you go, I go. Hope you enjoy this." I could tell that he meant it, but I didn't care.

I got up from my chair and headed out of the kitchen. As promised, the Doctor was right behind me. I shook my head and carried on until I reached the door to my room. I tried to open it, but someone had locked it.

"Oh, great. Now you're on his side are you?" I called to the door.

"_You can't do this, Star. You need to let him in._" The TARDIS had locked me out of my own room because of how stubborn I was being.

"_What I really need is some sleep._" I told her. "_So just let me in so I can have a few hours sleep and think about things._" I tried the door again, but it still wouldn't open.

"Fine. Have it your way." I shouted, before storming off down the corridor. I had left the Doctor standing at my door a little stunned, but it didn't take him long to catch back up to me.

"Problem?" The Doctor asked as he took hold of my hand.

"Yes. Actually, there is a problem. She's being awkward and not letting me go to my room and sleep." I told him, letting both him and the TARDIS know that I was angry. I had a response from the TARDIS, a very loud hum and a shaking corridor. "Yes, you've made your point." I shouted, as the corridor became still again.

"I take it she is on my side on this one?" He asked me as we carried on randomly walking.

"Yes. She is. And she is making it as clear as possible that she is upset with me." My head was just starting to hurt more and more now. I was getting stressed, and adding that to how tired I was feeling made me want to just curl up in the corridor and sleep.

"Well, maybe if you just listened to us…"

"Stop right there." I said, turning to face him. "This isn't your decision to make. It's mine. All I want to do is get a little sleep. And if she won't let me sleep in a room then I will just have to sleep right here won't I?" I sat myself down on the floor and leaned my head against the wall.

"Star, you need to stop being so stubborn." The Doctor said to me softly as he sat himself down next to me.

"I just want a few hours. Just a few, to get some rest and sort my head out. Is that really too much to ask for?" I let my head fall against his shoulder.

"Right, come on then." The Doctor said, getting up and taking me with him. "I'm sure I can find you somewhere to go for just a few hours. But I'm going to be there the whole time."

I let out a sigh. All I cared for was some rest, even if he was there, that didn't really matter too much, as long as I had some time. "Fine, where are we going then?"

"Somewhere for you to sleep a little and for me to keep an eye on you." He said, dragging me down the corridor.

"Oh, that's really helpful. Thanks." I mumbled.

We eventually stopped at a door and I frowned at him. "The library?"

"Yup. Since she put it back for me, we may as well go in there for a while." I watched him open the door with ease. I had been worried that she wasn't going to let us in there at first, but I guessed she was still siding with him.

We walked in and I instantly collapsed on the worn, brown leather sofa. I didn't stay in the same position for long as the Doctor forced me to sit up so that he could sit down. Once he was comfortable I flopped my head into his lap and let out a sigh.

"Right, now you can sleep and I can keep a very close eye on you." He told me, brushing some of my hair away from my face.

I closed my eyes and started shifting my memories. I knew I wasn't going to really sleep, and if I did it would only be after I knew certain memories were safely locked away so that even the bond wouldn't be able to find them. I was determined to protect him, whether he liked it or not, and to do that, I needed to keep some things a secret from him.

I had always been able to keep secrets from him, since we were first bonds. It wasn't meant to be possible, but somehow I managed it and now I could only hope that I was still able to do it.

After being completely sure that several memories were safely hidden, I let my mind drift and decided it was time to get a little sleep. My head was still hurting, in fact it was starting to hurt even more. That was just a sign that I needed some sleep.

I wasn't sure if I had actually managed to get any sleep, all I could hear was the Doctor shout my name while he gently shook me. I forced my eyes to open and realised that my headache was so much worse than before. It was feeling worse than the headaches I used to get when I was human.

"Star, looking at me. Please, look at me." I turned my head and saw the worried face of the Doctor.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, not understanding what all the fuss was about.

"You're burning up." I could hear the concern in his voice, but I wasn't sure what it was for. So I was a little more warm than normal, I didn't see that as too much of a big deal. "Have you got a headache?"

I frowned at him. "How did you know?"

His eyes widened and panic took over his face. "Star, it's started. Your mind can't take the single bond. You need to open up to me. Now."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." I told him, trying to pushing myself to sit up. None of my limbs would cooperate, no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't seem to move.

The Doctor cupped my face in his hands. "You have to do it now. You're dying, Star and you're the only one who can stop it. Please, you have to do this." I looked the Doctor in the eyes. There were tears ready to fall.

"I don't want you to be hurt." I whispered to him.

"This is hurting me, seeing you like this. How hurt do you think I am going be if I lose you? Please, Star." He was trying so hard not to let the tears stream down his cheeks.

"_Please don't hate me._" I whispered in his mind before slowly taking the barriers around my own mind down.

As each barrier fell, the pain in my head lessened. The Doctor was still holding my face in his hands, his eyes closed as he started to see everything that I had seen and been through. I had to hold back my own tears, knowing what he was going through.

I closed my eyes as tight as I could as I reached the last few barriers. Once they were done, that was it, no turning back. I hesitated, wondering if it really was such a good idea. Had I really managed to lock away the things I never wanted him to find? I figured there was only one way to find out and so I slowly started to remove the last and get it over with.

I let out a sob as I heard the Doctor gasp. Whether it was from pain or something that he had seen, I didn't know. I felt the Doctor press his head against mine and he let out a sigh.

"_Everything's fine now, Star. Everything will be okay. I promise you._" All I could do was nod my head slightly in agreement. I didn't feel up to talking, even if it was through to his mind.

I'm not sure how long we stayed there for, but we both stayed there in silence. The Doctor was going through my memories, occasionally letting out a sigh. I just laid there, my eyes closed and my mind focusing on nothing at all. I had already been through his memories, because I was one of the inspired, it took me less than an hour. After going through them I had pushed them all to one side, not planning on going through any of them again for a long time. Even he didn't want to remember a lot of them.

Of course, I had questions about some of them, but they were all in the past. A lot had happened for both of us and it wasn't really worth bringing the past up again.

"_You're tired. You should head to your room now._" A frown formed on my face. Now she was willing to let me go to my room.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked me, clearly having noticed the expression on my face.

"I'm allowed to use my room now." I told him, not even trying to move.

"Well come on then. Let's get you to bed." He said, trying to push me up and off the sofa.

"I can't be bothered to move. My body still doesn't want to cooperate, so I think I'll just stay right here." I told him, making sure my body weight kept him sitting down.

"That's easily fixed." He said. Before I had a chance to ask him how he had managed to get his arms underneath me and into his arms.

"So you're going to carry me to my room?" I still hadn't opened my eyes, and I still had no plans to either.

"Yes."

And he did. The TARDIS opened the door for him and he gently placed me down on my bed. I kicked off my boots and rolled over onto my side, wriggling under the covers as I did.

"Are you not even going to get changed?" The Doctor asked me, sitting himself on the other side of the bed.

"Can't be bothered. Too tired." I told him. If I didn't have the energy to walk to my room, what made him think that I was going to have the energy to get undressed and into my pyjamas?

"Are you actually going to sleep, or just pretend to go to sleep?"

I let out a sigh. "I am really actually going to sleep. If you don't believe me, stay here and watch me sleep." I told him. Then I remembered the first time I slept in the room, and told the Doctor to stay when he thought I was going to be a loud snorer.

"Want me to stay again?" He had seen what I had been thinking.

"Yeah." I felt him lay down on the bed after taking off his own boots and his jacket. I moved closer to him and undone his bow tie, tossing it to the floor. "Bow ties may be cool, but not when it's time to sleep." I mumbled, making him laugh a little.

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**A/N: Again, I'm sorry for how long it has taken to update. Please forgive me. I had to rewrite this chapter a few times. At one point it was just too fluffy, so I kept changing things.**

**Let me know what you think. Reviplenty lovelies.**

**Pippa.**


	21. Vincent and the Doctor Pt1

**Disclaimer: We all know the drill by now. **

**A/N: Sorry again for the long wait. Thank you to those who have reviewed/favourited/followed. It means a lot to me. Anyway, enjoy**.

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I slowly opened my eyes to find the Doctor just staring at me. He had a smile stretching across his face, and that made me suspicious. "What have you done?" I asked him, a frown setting on my face.

"Me? I haven't done anything." He protested.

"You look guilty. You must have done something. Otherwise you wouldn't look guilty." I told him, searching every part of his face to work out what was going on.

"I really haven't done anything. I've been here all the time. I promise you, I have not done anything." He said, tucking some of my messy hair behind my ear.

I narrowed my eyes, and decided to give in. "Okay, fine. You haven't done anything. I still don't trust that stupid smile on your face."

"Oh, shut up." He said before leaning in and kissing me. When he moved away, I had a slight smile on my face. "Who's got a stupid smile on their face now?"

"Stop it." I mumbled, shuffling over on the bed so that I was closer to him. "So, what are we going to do about our Amy?"

"I'm not sure. I guess we just need to keep her entertained still. What do you think?" He asked me, constantly playing with my hair. After the loss of Rory, we had taken Amy to so many different places, but it was clear that something was still wrong.

"I think I know of a few places we can take her. Should be able to bring a smile to her face at least." I knew of a lot of places that Amy wanted to go, and some people that she wanted to meet. I knew it wouldn't be too hard to distract her and cheer her up if we took her to the right places.

"How are you feeling?" There was that hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine." I told him, pushing myself up and onto my elbows. "Did you actually sleep? Or did you just stay there watching me the whole time?" I saw the Doctor's face flush red. That answered that question. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Right, let's go get Amy and go somewhere. What do you say?" The Doctor said, jumping off the bed and snatching the covers away from me.

"Hey! Who said I was getting out of bed yet. Give me my duvet back." I cried, trying to grab hold of it and pull it back. He dodged out of the way and I grabbed hold of nothing but air. "Give me my duvet. Now!" I demanded.

"Ha! No." He replied, taking another step away from the bed.

"You're going to regret doing that." I told him, reaching behind me for one of the pillows. The Doctor just smirked at me, so I threw the pillow at him, hitting him square in the face. I burst out laughing, I never meant to get him in the face.

"What was that for?" He asked sulkily, not impressed with my perfect aim.

"Told you, give me my duvet back." He shook his head at me before dropping the duvet and picking up the pillow. Something told me that war was about to being.

Sure enough a pillow fight soon broke out. There was no real winner, but all the pillows had been completely destroyed. There was feathers scattered all over the place, I had made one or two of the pillows actually explode. There may have been a great mess, but it was fun.

"Okay, now I'm hungry." I said, gathering up some of the feathers and piling them up in the corner by the bin.

"Well come on then. Breakfast, then we wake Amy up. Then it's adventure time." The Doctor cried, yanking me by the hand and pulling me out of my room.

"Hey, can I at least get washed and dressed first?" I cried as I tried to pull my arm back.

He turned and looked at me. "You are dressed."

I let out a sigh. "Yes, in yesterday's clothes. Come on, I want to nice hot bath. Please." I begged, tugging on his arm. I had fallen asleep in the console room and he decided to carry me to my room, and then watch me sleep for hours.

"Yes, fine. You can do all that, but only after we have decided on where we are taking Amy today." The Doctor said, ushering me into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair, putting his hands on my shoulders to get me to sit down, before he started busying himself making tea.

"_Amelia is up and on her way._" I let out a sigh.

"_How is she today?_" I asked the TARDIS.

"_Still lost. I've been moving things that seem to upset her._"

"_Thanks. Where would I be without you? Actually, please don't answer that, I don't think I want to know._"

I looked over at the Doctor and saw him just gazing at me. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"What did she say?" He asked, sitting down next to me. Since the bond was now back, he seemed to know every time I was talking to the TARDIS.

"Amy is up and on her way. She's still not great. We have to think of something spectacular for her today." I told him, racking my brain, trying to think of somewhere we could take her.

A few minutes later the door opened and Amy walked in. "Morning you two. How's my favourite Time Lord and Lady today?" She asked, taking a mug from the Doctor before he handed me mine as well.

"I'd be better if someone didn't decide to drag me out of bed before I had to chance to change." I moaned, taking a sip of my tea.

"He was watching you sleep again wasn't he?" Amy smirked. I nodded at her, it wasn't the first and certainly was not going to be the last time he would be doing it.

The Doctor sat down beside me, took m free hand and enlaced his fingers through mine. "So, where shall we go today?" He asked, looking over at Amy sadly.

"I don't mind." Amy replied, sipping on her tea.

"_I have an idea. Something that should bring a smile to her face._" I told him, not taking my eyes off Amy.

"_Are you going to tell me what it is?_" I knew he was looking at me, and that was why I was refusing to look at him.

"_Nope. You're just going to have to wait and see. Make it a surprise for you and Amy._" I said, bringing my mug up to my lips.

"_Oh, come on. That's not fair. How am I suppose to know where to take the TARDIS if you won't tell me?_"

"_You won't be driving. I will. I want us all to arrive in once piece and in the right place, thank you very much._" He sunk back in his chair, sulking and I let a smile spread across my face.

Amy had been watching us closely. "Did you just tell him off in his head again?" She asked. We had explained to her all about how we were able to communicate without having to speak, and that because we were now bonded, we could see things through the others eyes if we wanted them to see.

"I just told him I know exactly where to go today and that he is not driving." That made Amy laugh. She always agreed that I was a better pilot than he was, and that just upset him even more.

"So where are we going?" Amy asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." I told her before quickly finishing my tea. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get washed and dressed. Once I'm done, we'll be off." I stood up, forcing the Doctor to let go of my hand. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing for my bath.

Not long later we were all standing in the Museé d'Orsay, not too far in Amy's future. The reason we were there was for Amy, for her to see the works of Vincent Van Gogh.

"Thanks for bringing me." Amy said as she looked around at the artwork.

"You're welcome." The Doctor said, holding my hand tightly.

"You're being so nice to me. Why are you both being so nice to me?" Amy eyed us both suspiciously.

"We're always nice to you. You know I see you as the sister I never had, Amy." I assured her.

"Not like this. These places you're both taking me. Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens, now this. I think it's suspicious."

"What? It's not… there's nothing to be suspicious about." The Doctor told her quickly.

"_She was joking, you moron._" To whispered, rolling my eyes at him.

"Okay, I was joking. Why aren't you?" Amy said, the Doctor just looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with Amy.

We listened to expert, leading a group and telling them all about Van Gogh. "Look. There is it. The actually one." Amy exclaimed, dragging me, and in turn, the Doctor to look at one of the paintings, Church at Auvers.

"Yes. You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you. Carving the colours into shapes." The Doctor said, staring at the picture.

"_Umm, Theta, do you see that 'thing' in the window as well?_" I asked him, noticing something odd with the painting.

"Wait a minute." He said, leaning in closer to look at the painting better.

"What?" Amy asked, not seeing what they had both seen.

"Well, just look at that." He pointed to the painting.

"What?"

"Something not good." I said, letting out a sigh.

"Something very not good indeed." The Doctor confirmed.

"What thing very not good?" Amy asked, still not spotting it.

"Look there, in the window of the church." I told her, while the Doctor pointed.

"Is it a face?"

"Yes. And not a nice face. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window." The Doctor said before heading over to the expert and interrupting him. "Excuse me, if I can just interrupt for one second. Sorry, everyone." He pulled out his psychic paper and flashed it around the room. "Routine inspection, Ministry of Art and… Artyness. So, er…?"

"Doctor Black." The man responded, clearly not fazed by the Doctor.

"Yes, that's right. Do you actually know when that picture of the church was painted?" The Doctor asked.

"Ah well, oh, well, what in interesting question. Most people imagine…"

"I'm going to have to hurry you. When was it?" The Doctor asked impatiently. I whacked him lightly on the arm, warning him not to be so rude.

"Exactly?"

"As exact as you can, please." I asked him politely.

"Without a long speech, if poss. We're in a hurry." The Doctor added.

"_Stop being so damn rude. Rude and not ginger. I bet if you were ginger you'd be even more rude._" He flinched a little at the tone I had used. He could tell I was getting annoyed with his rudeness.

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the first and third of June."

"What year?" I asked him before the Doctor could be rude again.

"1890. Less than a year before… before he killed himself."

"Thank you, sir. Very helpful indeed. Nice bow tie. Bow ties are cool." The Doctor said.

"Yours is very…"

"Oh, thank you. I keep telling them stuff." The Doctor said before dragging Amy and me by the hand. "We need to go."

"What about the other pictures?" Amy cried, not happy that her trip had been cut short.

"Art can wait. This is life and death. We need to talk to Vincent Van Gogh." The Doctor said, pushing her ahead and dragging me beside him.

We walked back to the TARDIS, I was more dragged back, in silence. I had a very bad feeling that I was going to have to confess something to the Doctor. It seemed that I was still able to hide things from him, even with the bond. I was grateful for that, but I knew it was going to start getting me into trouble.

"Right, off we go then." The Doctor cried as he sent the TARDIS off into the time vortex.

I debated about whether I should actually tell him the truth or not. I decided I would risk it and not tell him anything. I mean, the worse that could happen was I would have to tell him the truth. He wouldn't be happy with me for keeping it from him, but he would get over it.

"Right, so, here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend." The Doctor said, stepping out of the TARDIS.

"Easy peasy." Amy said, skipping along beside us.

"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with out Mr Van Gogh." The Doctor told her.

"Oh, trust me. It definitely won't be easy with that man." I mumbled, while the Doctor rubbed the back of my hand that he was holding with his thumb.

"Now, he'll probably be in the local café. Sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside."

I rolled my eyes and plucked the guidebook from the exhibition from Amy's hand and turned it to the page which showed the painting of the café. Amy smirked at me and showed it to the Doctor.

"Like this?"

The Doctor looked at it. "That's the one."

"Or indeed, like that." I said, pointing out the café in front of us.

"Yeah exactly like that." The Doctor replied, beaming away at me. "Good evening. Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?" The Doctor asked, approaching the café and speaking to a man standing outside in a suit.

"Don't mention that man to me." He scoffed, before walking back inside.

"Excuse me." The Doctor said in a huff. The man had been rude, now the Doctor knew how it felt. "Do you know Vincent Van Gogh?" The Doctor asked one of the women cleaning the tables outside.

"Unfortunately." She replied.

"Unfortunately?" Amy questioned. She loved the man, why would these people not be so keen on knowing him?

"He's a drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills." She told us.

"He is not mad." I spat at the woman, surprising her, the Doctor and Amy.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Good painter, though, eh?" Laughter erupted around us all at the comment.

"Come on! Come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal." A man's voice called, getting closer.

"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good. I can't hang that up on my walls. It'd scare the customers half to death. It's bad enough having you here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out." The man from before in the suit said to the ginger man who had come outside with him.

"I'll pay if you like." The Doctor said, sitting down at one of the tables while I hung over the other side with Amy.

"What?"

"Well, if you like, I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink." The Doctor said, not realising how mad he sounded.

"Exactly who are you?" The ginger man, who I knew to be none other than Vincent Van Gogh, asked.

"Oh, I'm new in town." He said, waving off his question.

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you." Vincent said, resulting in more laughter. "Two, no one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town. So if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friends are cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other peoples business."

I had to stifle a laugh. The Doctor didn't know how to react, let alone what to say. It was a priceless moment for me.

Vincent turned back to the manager of the café. "Come on, just one more drink, I'll pay tomorrow."

"No."

"Or, on the other hand, slightly more compassionately, yes?" Vincent asked hopefully.

"Or, on the other hand, to protect my business from madmen, no."

"_Oh, looks like you're not welcome here either._" I told the Doctor, earning a frown from him, which I just shrugged at.

"Oh look, just shut up, the pair of you." Amy called, making both the men stop immediately. "We would like a bottle of wine, please, which we will then share with whomever we choose." She said, holding onto me arm as she spoke.

"That could work." Vincent said, looking at Amy and I.

"That's good by me." The manager replied. He shoved the self-portrait back at Vincent and headed inside. Amy and I were right behind him, going to collect out wine.

It didn't take long for us to get comfortable at a table inside the café with our wine. Amy was sitting next to Vincent, while I was opposite him with the Doctor.

"That accent if yours, you from Holland like me?" Vincent asked Amy.

"Yes." The Doctor said at the exactly same time as Amy said "No."

"She means yes." I said, rolling my eyes.

"So, start again. Hello, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor held out his hand to Vincent.

"I knew it!" Vincent exclaimed.

"Sorry?" The Doctor was sitting there confused, but I knew exactly what Vincent meant.

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help." Vincent told him, slightly annoyed now.

"Oh, no, not that kind of doctor." He told him before spotting the painting beside Vincent. "That's incredible, don't you think, Amy?"

"Absolutely. One of my favourites." She replied excitedly.

"One of my favourite what's? You've never seen my work before."

"Yes, she means one of her favourite paintings that she's ever seen, in general." I told him.

He looked at Amy. "Then you can't have seen many paintings then. I know it's terrible. It's the best I can do." He seemed to drift off for a moment into his own little world, something I had seen before. "Your hair's orange." He said to Amy eventually.

"Yes. So's yours." Amy replied.

"_Is this really a good idea? I have a feeling they are going to start…" _I looked at the Doctor, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"_What? Flirting? Give the girl a break. And besides, Vince is harmless._" I told him, trying to reassure him.

"So, er, Vincent. Painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?" The Doctor asked, trying to get to the real reason why we were there.

"Well, there is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right." Vincent replied.

"That is very good news." The Doctor replied, before getting disturbed by a woman screaming.

"She's been murdered! Help me!" She cried.

"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news. Come on, Summer, Amy, Vincent!" The Doctor grabbed hold of my hand and we were running down the street.

"She's been ripped to shreds!" A man cried.

"Please, let me look. I'm a doctor." The Doctor said, rushing through the crowd. "Oh, no, no, no." The Doctor said quietly, looking at the poor dead girl.

"Away, all of you vultures. This is my daughter. Giselle." The mother cried, hugging the body. "What monster could have done this? Get away from her." She spat at the Doctor.

I pulled the Doctor back, knowing that the woman was going to be emotional. "Get that madman out of here!" She cried when she spotted Vincent looking on. She picked up a stone and threw it at him, knocking him on the head.

The rest of the crowd joined in and I felt the energy burning. "_Get Amy and Vincent out of here._" I told the Doctor, seeing that they were being pelted with stones as well. Once they were behind me I used the energy to turn the stones to dust before they could hit anyone. Backing up slowly down the alley, making sure that no stones hit anyone.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked Vincent as they waited for me at the end of the alley.

"Yes, I'm used to it." He replied.

The Doctor looked at me. "_Are you okay?_" I just nodded at him and let out a long breath.

"Has anything like this murder happened here before?" I asked. I had a bad feeling that the figure we saw at the church was to blame for all this.

"Only a week ago. It's a terrible time." Vincent told me as the Doctor wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked.

"As I thought. As I thought." The Doctor mumbled. "Come on, we'd better get you home."

"Where are you staying tonight?" Vincent asked the Doctor, but giving a glance at Amy.

"Oh, you're very kind." The Doctor said, patting the man on the shoulder and starting to walk off, leaving a rather stunned Vincent Van Gogh behind.

"Dark night. Very starry." The Doctor commented as we approached Vincent's home.

"It's not much. I live on my own. But you should be okay for one night. One night."

"We're going to stay with him?" Amy asked, clearly even more excited now.

"Until he paints that church." I said, letting out a sigh.

The Doctor and I followed him inside while Amy stopped to look at a painting.

"Sorry about all the clutter." Vincent said as he lit a lamp.

"Some clutter." The Doctor remarked as he looked at all the paintings scattered around the room.

"I've come to accept that the only person who's going to love my paintings is me." He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought again. "And maybe one other person." I saw a small smile creep across his face but it soon faded.

"Wow. I mean, really. Wow." Amy exclaimed as she looked around the room.

"Yeah, I know it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear out. I must. I really must." He said, lighting a few more lamps. "Coffee, anyone?"

"Not for me, actually." The Doctor said, still looking around the room with Amy.

"I wouldn't mind one. If you're having some." I said before cringing as he placed the coffee pot down on one of his paintings. "You know, you should be more careful with these. They're precious." I warned him kindly.

"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else." He said, wiping the wet mark off the painting.

"They're precious to me." Amy called, poking her head back around the door.

"Well, you're very kind. Kindness is most welcome." He told her, seemingly a little sad.

"Right, so, this church then. Near here, is it?" The Doctor asked, pressing the matter a bit too much.

"What is it with you and the church?"

"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know." The Doctor rambled.

"Far from casual. It seems to me you never talk about anything else." Vincent looked at me. "He's a strange one."

"Oh, you have no idea just how strange." I told him, giving him a warm smile.

"Okay, so, let's talk about you, then. What are you interested in?" The Doctor asked him. I wanted to slap him. He was just being completely silly now. It was clear what the man was interested in.

"Well, look around. Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of." He let out a sigh. "Someone showed me that once."

I couldn't help but smile. "You don't have to tell us that." I told him.

The Doctor and I were sitting by the fire, listening to Vincent.

"It's colour. Colour that holds the key. I can hear the colours. Listen to them. Every time I step outside, I feel nature is shouting at me. Come on. Come and get me. Come on. Come on! Capture my mystery!" He seemed to be a little, on edge and rambling slightly.

"Maybe you've had enough coffee now. How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we?" The Doctor suggested.

"Amy. Where's Amy?" I asked, looking around the room and noticing she wasn't there. My question was answered when we heard a scream coming from outside.

"No, no, no!" The Doctor shouted, jumping out of his chair and running for the door, Vincent and I close behind him.

"Amy! Amy, what happened?" I asked as I saw her on the ground.

"I don't know. I didn't see it. I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind." She answered in panic.

"It's okay. He's gone now and we're here." The Doctor assured her while I looked around.

"No! No!" Vincent shouted, in panic and fear.

"Take it easy. Take it easy." The Doctor said, trying to calm him down.

"What's happening? What's he doing?" Amy asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor told her, looking very worried.

I watched Vincent pick up a pitchfork and he charged at us. I looked behind and my eyes widened in horror. "Move, run. Go." I shouted, pushing Amy and the Doctor out of the way.

"Summer, Amy, get back. He's having some kind of fit. I'll try to calm him down." The Doctor said, watching Vincent stab the pitchfork in the air. "Easy, Vincent, easy. Look. Look, look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me. It's the Doctor, look. No one else is here. So Vincent…"

"Look out!" Vincent and I cried at the same time. The Doctor didn't move and he was flung in the air. Amy set out a few screams while I flinched at feeling the Doctor's pain.

"I can't see anything. What is it?" Amy asked.

"That's a good question." The Doctor answer.

"Don't you dare think of helping him. You can't even see it." I spat at him, seeing what he was thinking. The Doctor ignored me and went to help, getting sent flying through the air again.

"You couldn't see him?" Vincent asked him.

"No, he couldn't. And he's an idiot." I shouted as the Doctor kept fighting with nothing. I walked over to Vincent, knowing the creature had gone. "Are you okay?"

"You… you could see it?" I nodded at him. "You're eyes, there's something familiar about them. We haven't met before have we?" I just smiled at him.

"He's gone now, Doctor. You can stop." I called to him.

"Oh, right. Yes. Of course." He said, feeling a little foolish.

"_You saw it, didn't you?_" He asked, looking over at me.

"_Yeah, I did._"

"_Did you recognise it? Do you know what it is?_" I shook my head at him. I was more worried about him and Vincent to take in all the details of the creature. The next thing I knew, he had his arms warped around me. "_You okay? Did it hurt you?_"

I let out a sigh. "_Only when you decided to be the brave idiot and get thrown around. That hurt slightly._" I informed him.

"Everyone, inside. Now." The Doctor said, ushering me along with him. "Right, so he's invisible. What did he look like?" He asked, turning to face Vincent now we were all safe inside.

"I'll show you." Vincent said, and immediately started to paint over one of his works of art.

"Oh, no, no. No, no!" The Doctor cried, I was feeling just the same. Vincent really needed to be more careful with those paintings.

"What?"

"It's just, that was quite good. And I really rather liked it." I told him, watching him destroy his own work.

Once the white paint had dried he pulled out his charcoal and set to work on drawing the beast. After a while the Doctor got up to check on the drawing and saw it was almost complete. "Okay. Okay." He said quietly, while thinking. "Summer, Amy, make Mr Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door." He said, picking up the drawing and heading towards the door.

"But it could be outside, waiting." Amy protested.

"Well, don't worry I'll risk it. What's the worse that can happen?"

"You could be torn into pieces by a monster you can't see." I told him firmly, my arms folded across my chest.

"Oh right, yes, that. Don't worry. I'll be back before you can say 'where's he got to now'." He stepped out of the door, leaving me shaking my head.

"Not that fast!" The Doctor shouted, popping his head back around the doorframe. Both Amy and Vincent jumped, while I just stood there staring at him. "But pretty fast. See you around."

"_You be careful out there mister. Or I promise I will give you hell when we get home._" I warned him, hoping that he wouldn't get himself into even more trouble.

"_Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just keep an eye on Vincent, make sure he doesn't damage any more masterpieces._"

"I notice your currently painting a fair amount of flowers and blossoms, what about the night sky?" I asked him, trying to make conversation and keep everyone out of trouble.

"I have painted the night sky. It was one of her favourites." Vincent went into his own little world for another time that night.

"So, who is she, Vincent? You keep mentioning a she." I asked him, Amy too busy looking at the painting again.

"She was a friend. She stayed here for a few weeks only a year ago. She was the only other person besides myself who loved my work." There was sadness in his voice.

"What happened to her?" I knew I shouldn't really be asking him, I should have just left it all alone and not asked about her, but I was too curious.

"She disappeared. She went out one evening and never came back. I miss her dearly. She was the only one who understood how I felt. Sometimes I thought she wasn't from this world."

Amy came and sat back down. "What was her name?" Instantly I froze and my chest started pounding. I quickly put some barriers up so that the Doctor couldn't hear what was going on. He was going to be too busy to notice anyway.

"Her name was Star. Her hair was much the same colour as yours." Vincent said, nodding towards me. "And her eyes, there seems to something of hers in you own eyes."

"I think it's time to get some rest now. It's been a long night, what with that creature on the loose as well. Off you go Vince." I quickly bit my lip as Vincent turned to look at me.

"She used to call me that as well." He told me, before disappearing.

Once he was gone I let out a sigh of relief, I was glad the Doctor hadn't been there to see that. Unfortunately, Amy had been, and she had picked up on all of it.

"So, when did you two first meet?" Amy asked me.

"For him, last year. For me, a few hundred years ago, maybe. I really can't remember when it was exactly." I told her, rubbing my head a little.

"Does the Doctor know?"

"No, he doesn't. Guess I'm going to have to tell him now. Oh, this isn't going to be fun. How do I tell him that I was the inspiration for one of Van Gogh's most renowned paintings?" I asked her, knowing that she wouldn't have an answer.

"But Vincent doesn't know it's you?" Amy asked.

"No, I was younger, different body. Same hair, pretty much, and possibly the same eyes. But I was a different person back then. Seems so long ago now." I told her, drifting off into my own little world.

I eventually put the barriers back down. "_So, how's it going?_" I asked him, hoping that he wouldn't notice I had shut him out.

"_Still looking._" He replied. "_So, why did you close your mind off?_" He had noticed, great.

"_We were talking about you. I wasn't going to let you listen in._" I hoped that he was going to buy it, that he would believe it. Lucky for me he did.

I must have been sitting there for a few hours when Amy came in, looking really fed up. "How did you put up with that man's snoring?" Amy asked me.

I burst out laughing before answering her. "Oh, that was easy. While he slept, I went out. Come on, let's get and check on the Doctor. He's been gone for too long." I told her, getting up out of the chair.

"But what about that monster?" Amy asked. Last night it had really scared her.

"Amy, I can actually see it, just like Vincent can. We'll be fine." I assured her, linking my arm through hers. "Come on, let's go." We stepped outside and saw that dawn was fast approaching. "Yeah, he's definitely been gone for too long now." I said, looking up at the sky.

We started heading back to the TARDIS when I suddenly stopped. "_Krafayis. There's a bloody Krafayis on the loose._" I had seen the information come up on the scanning machine that the Doctor was holding. Then I noticed something else. "_Theta, you might want to look behind you…_" I warned him.

"Come on, Amy. We need to move. Now." I started running towards where the Doctor was, he was being chased by the Krafayis.

We soon managed to find the Doctor, although he was more than a little surprised to see us. "Never do that!" He shouted, as he literally ran into us around a corner. "You scared the living daylights out of me." I held in my laughter as he squeezed me tightly.

"Sorry, I got bored. As much as you both admire his command of colour and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring." Amy told him as the Doctor finally let me go.

"And I was just as bored as Amy. So we thought we'd come and help you, considering you were being chased." The Doctor looked around the corner, and I took a peek as well. "No, nothing there." I told him, reassuring him that it was no longer following him.

"Right, well, back to Vincent. Come along." He said, tugging at my hand and marching back to Vincent's house with me on his arm and Amy in tow.

* * *

**A/N: So, she already knows Vincent. Whatever will the Doctor tank of that? **

**Thank you to everyone who hasteen sticking by this story. I love you all so much! So leave a review, or send me a PM (I do my utmost best to reply to all PM's). **

**I promise to get back to updating better, I really am sorry. **

**Pippa**


	22. Vincent and the Doctor Pt2

**Disclaimer: I have an unhealthy interest in Doctor Who, which increases my frustration by the fact that I do not own it. **

**A/N: I finally have my MacBook back, party time! I shall not delay. My thanks to all you reviewers, followers and people who have added as a favourite. On with the show!**

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, rise and shine! Breakfast is served in the courtyard. Whoa, what a morning. Come on. And Amy's got a little surprise for you." The Doctor told Vincent, barking into his room and waking him up.

"I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night." Amy told him, a mass of sunflowers all around her.

"Ah." Vincent seemed less than impressed.

"Told you." I whispered to Amy. "Sunflowers are not his favourite."

"I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something? Might be a thought." Amy asked him, trying to ignore my comment to her.

"Yes, well, they're not my favourite flower." Vincent told her. I couldn't help but give a satisfyingly smug smirk to Amy and the Doctor.

"You don't like sunflowers?" Amy questioned.

"No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge." Vincent said, inspecting the sunflowers a little more.

"And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to." I said to him, knowing full well that he would.

"Moving on, there's something I need to show you." The Doctor said, stepping inside the house.

Vincent was soon downstairs and sitting at the table, looking at the printout of the Krafayis. "That's him. And the eyes, without mercy." Vincent said.

"This is a creature called the Krafayis. They travel in space. They travel as a pack, scavenging across the universe. And sometimes one of them gets left behind. And because they are a brutal race, the others never come back." The Doctor looked at Vincent carefully, to make sure he was keeping up. "So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is, well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them."

"But I can. And so can you're lovely lady as well." Vincent nodded over to me.

"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?" The Doctor asked.

"What about the monster?" Vincent asked.

"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come." The Doctor told him with a smile.

"Okay, I'll get my things." The painter replied cheerfully.

"In your own time. And I promise you, we'll me out of your hair by this time tomorrow." The Doctor told him. I saw Vincent's face fall as he left the room. "This is risky." He said to Amy and I.

"Riskier than normal?" Amy asked.

"Well, think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Museé d'Orsay will disappear. And it will be our fault."

"You need to calm down, dear. Everything will be fine. You've got me here, remember?" I reminded him, giving his hand a squeeze to help calm him down. "Come on, let's go and see if he needs a hand." I said, getting up and taking the Doctor up to Vincent's bedroom.

The Doctor knocked on the door, and called for Vincent. When he had no reply he opened the door and stepped in. "Vincent, can I help?" The Doctor asked, noticing the man lying on the bed crying.

"It's so clear you cannot help. And when you leave, and everyone always leaves, I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope." The painter told us as I stood beside the Doctor.

"My experience is that there is, you know, surprisingly, always hope." The Doctor said, kissing the top of my head. We were both thinking the same thing, about how we both lost hope of seeing each other again. But there we were, together again.

"Then your experience is incomplete. I know how it will end. And it will not end well." Vincent insisted.

"Come on, come out. Come on, let's get outside." The Doctor said, trying to coax the man out of his sudden despair.

"Get out!" Vincent shouted. "You get out. What are you doing here? What are you doing here?" He shouted. The Doctor slowly backed away towards the door, taking me with him.

"Very well. We'll leave. We'll leave you." The doctor told him.

"_Wait, give me a few minutes. Let me talk to him._" I asked the Doctor.

"_Star, are you sure. He seems a little… unstable._" I could hear the concern in the Doctor's voice.

"_Trust me, I'll be fine. Vince would never hurt anyone._" The Doctor nodded at me and slipped out of the room.

"Hey, Vincent? You know, people leave, but sometimes they come back." I told him, leaning against the wall.

"No one ever comes back in my life once they have left." He replied, controlling his sobbing.

"Oh really? Well, I know for a fact that is not true." I told him, letting a smile creep across my face. Vincent rolled over on the bed and looked at me before throwing his feet to the floor and sitting on the bed.

I pushed myself away from the wall and sat down next to him on the bed. "So tell me about this woman, Star. What was she like?" I asked him.

"She was different to anyone I had ever met. She seemed to understand me more than anyone I had ever met. She helped me to see that there was so much more out there, it was because of her I decided to paint the sky at night." I could see how he was remembering.

"She sounds like a nice woman." I said, bringing him back to reality.

"My one and only friend. But she left. I will never know what happened to her. I know I shall never see her again." There was the sadness in his voice again.

"Oh, I think maybe you have seen her again, you just don't know it." He looked at me, his face full of confusion. "You're brilliant, Vince. You'll work it out." I told him, giving him a huge smile.

Then the penny dropped and he realised. "No. But how is that…" I couldn't help but smile at him some more.

"Hi, Vince. Been a long time." I said to him before he enveloped me in a huge hug. "Now, get yourself ready and come meet us downstairs. Okay?" He nodded at me and I left the room, bouncing down the stairs and towards the Doctor.

"Come on. We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up." The Doctor said, getting ready to leave the house.

"Can we wait just a few more minutes?" I asked as I stepped into the room.

"_How did it go? Is he okay? You closed off again back then._" I could see the worry in his eyes.

"_Everything went fine. You'd be surprised how quickly he can bounce back. And I will tell you later about everything else._" I assured him. I didn't want to tell him just yet that I had met the painter before.

"I'm ready. Let's go." Vincent said as he stepped through the doorway, picking up his tools of the trade ready to go and a smile on his face.

I couldn't help but smile at him. "Now that's more like it."

We walked along the road, Amy hanging onto Vincent's arm, the Doctor's arm wrapped around me.

"I'm sorry you're so sad." Amy told Vincent as we walked.

"But I'm not. Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now. If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh." He looked from Amy and over at me. "And I know my favourite Star is alive and well." I could feel the Doctor's eyes on me. Maybe it was time to come clean.

"_I'll explain later. We have a Krafayis to deal with first._" I told him.

"_Explain how Vincent Van Gogh knows my bond? My Star?_" There was a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"_Something like that, yes._" I replied nervously.

"I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine." Amy replied, not knowing what Vincent could see.

"Oh, Amy. I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost something, I think." Vince said, holding onto her hand.

"_Told you, far from mad that man._" I said to the Doctor.

"I'm not sad." Amy insisted, still confused.

"Then why are you crying?" Vincent asked, not even looking at her. Amy let go of his hand and touched her face to find she was indeed crying. "It's all right. I understand."

"I'm not sure I do." Amy seemed a little scared now.

I gave the Doctor a quick look, we needed to change the topic of conversation, for Amy's sake. "Okay, okay. So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns…"

"Then we shall fight him again." Vincent declared, stopping in his tracks.

"Well, yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too." The Doctor told them.

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy asked.

"Well, I could show him, but something tells me he has other ideas." I said, knowing what the Doctor was planning on doing.

"The answer's in this box. I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother." He said, patting the suitcase he was carrying.

We went to start walking again when I spotted the funeral procession coming along the way we were heading.

"Oh no, it's that poor girl from the village." Vincent said once he spotted it as well.

We all stood to the side of the road, heads bowed in respect as they passed us. "You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked once they had passed.

I let out a sigh. "No. It's a thing."

"It's like a plan, but with more greatness." The Doctor said, giving me a playful nudge before we started walking towards the church again.

"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters?" The Doctor asked Vincent as he started setting up for his painting.

"Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid." Vincent replied.

I rolled my eyes at him. "How many times do I have to tell you, Vince? You are not mad."

"No, quite." The Doctor said, agreeing with me. "And, Summer is right, I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex…"

"Shush. I'm working."

"Well, yes. Paint. Do painting. I do remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I kept saying to him, look, if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job then." The Doctor rambled.

"Doctor, shush." I told him, nudging him to shut him up.

"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face."

"Quiet." Amy and I told him at the same time.

I managed to get the Doctor to sit down on the grass with me while Amy watched Vincent at work.

"_So, how did you meet Vincent Van Gogh? And when as well, I thought you wern't allowed to leave home?_" the Doctor asked as he played with my hand.

"_Oh, well, do you remember that time when you came to visit and we spent the evening on the fields, just talking?_" The Doctor nodded at me. "_Well, I knew of one TARDIS that would let me leave, because she knew I would come back._" I told him nervously.

"_Did you take my TARDIS?_" He asked in shock.

"_I borrowed. Remember, I brought her back. But yeah, I spent a few weeks here. Met Vince, stayed with him, showed him that there is more to this world if you look hard enough._"

"_But you were only gone for a few minutes._" There was something he seemed to be forgetting.

"_Yes, because I know how to fly her properly._" I gloated.

"_Well, why did you go off without me? We both could have gone, why go off and leave me there?_" He was starting to sound a little hurt now. And I was starting to feel a little guilty.

"_I honestly only meant to leave for a few minutes. I was going to get you something, but then I met Vince and we just started talking._" I told him. It was true, I was only taking a quick trip there, I hadn't planned on staying very long.

"_Well, it seems you left quite an impression on him._" The Doctor teased.

"_Oh, you have no idea._" I told him, before opening my mind and letting the memories of when I first met Vincent Van Gogh flow into his mind.

"_So, you were the inspiration for 'Starry Night'?_" The Doctor asked. I just nodded at him. "_Well, I didn't expect that._"

"_I know you didn't. Sorry for keeping it from you. I just… didn't want you to be angry with me for taking a trip without you._"

"_Oh, I could never be angry with you. You should know that._" The Doctor told me, pulling me closer to him.

I moved closer and cuddled up to him. It was nice, and for the first time in so long I felt so happy and relaxed. Granted there was still a murderous beast on the loose, but still, this was a moment that I was never going to forget.

"Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack." The Doctor said after several hours. The sky was much darker now, but the painting was closer to completion.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit… if I didn't know better, I'd say nervous." Amy said, coming over to the pair of us.

I let out a sigh. "He hates waiting. Impatient. That's what he is."

"Yes, there's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it." The Doctor said.

Vincent looked up from his work. "There! He's at the window." He called, pointing towards one of the church windows.

"Where?" The Doctor asked, rushing to get up and to Vincent.

"There, on the right." Vincent told him. I let out a sigh and projected the image that I could see into his mind.

"As I thought. Come on. I'm going in." He said, running ahead a little.

"Well I'm coming too." Vincent declared.

"No." The Doctor and I shouted at the same time.

"You're Vincent Van Gogh. No." The Doctor said firmly. "_And you're not coming either._" He told me.

"_And why the hell not? I can see it, you can't._"

" _You need to look after Amy and Vincent._" He told me, causing me to sulk a little.

"But you're not armed." Vincent protested.

"I am." The Doctor informed everyone, holding on tightly to the suitcase.

"With what?" Vincent scoffed.

"Overconfidence, that thing, and a small screwdriver." I mumbled, still unhappy that he was refusing to let me go with him.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails."

I let out a laugh. "Deadlocks and wood." I pointed out.

"Not helping." He said, coming over and standing in front of me. "I'll be fine. Anyway, Summer, Amy, one thought, one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstance." He said before kissing me quickly.

"I won't." Amy told him seriously before he dashed off. He didn't even wait for me to answer because he knew I was going to argue with him. He really wanted to avoid getting into any kind of argument with me.

"Will you follow him?" Vincent asked Amy.

"Of course." She told him, a smile forming on her face.

"I love you." He said to her, before looking over at me. "And what about you, my bright Star? Will you follow him?"

"Oh, yes. I'm already forming a plan." I told him, watching the Krafayis at the window. I knew that the Doctor was going to get into trouble, that was inevitable.

"Has he moved?" Amy asked, a short time later. She was pacing around, the nerves showing.

"No. Just shifted to the next window. But, wait. He's turning now." Vincent called to Amy.

I let out a heavy sigh. "And that would be my cue." I said, before hearing the Doctor cry out in surprise.

"Summer!" Amy called, chasing after me. I really should have sneaked away, but there wasn't time for that.

Once Vincent realised what was going on he called after Amy, but she carried on chasing after me.

I ran through the church, knowing exactly where the Doctor was and pulled open the door. The Doctor let out a yelp of surprise when he saw me and Amy standing there.

"Argh! I thought I told you… never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here." The Doctor dragged us into the confessions booth. Amy on one side while I was pulled in with the Doctor. I had to admit, it was a little cramped.

"Absolutely quiet. Can you breathe a little quieter, please?" The Doctor asked.

"_Being rude again._" I snapped at him.

"No." Amy told him. "He's gone past."

The Doctor shushed her. We stayed there, in silence for a few moments before Amy screamed as the beast smashed the side she was in.

"I think he heard us." The Doctor announced, it then attacking the side that we were in. "That is impressive hearing he's got. What's less impressive are our chances of survival."

"_Will you shut up and stop talking then._" I was the only one not making any noise. While Amy was screaming, the Doctor insisted on talking and giving a running commentary.

"Hey! Are you looking for me, sonny?" Vincent shouted. "Come on, over here, because I'm right here waiting for you." He shouted, brandishing a chair at the beast. "Come on, quickly. Get behind me." He called to the three of us.

We wasted no time in getting behind Vincent as he tried to fend off the Krafayis with his chair. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out and began fiddling with it before turning it on.

"Doing anything?" He asked.

"Uh uh." Vincent told him, pushing us all back.

We ended up back outside of the church. "Where is he?" The Doctor asked.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head." Vincent shouted, still brandishing the chair in front of him. I couldn't help but smirk at the way Vincent had just spoken to the Doctor.

"_You know, I keep finding more and more reasons to like Vince._" I told the Doctor, knowing it would annoy him.

"_Yes, well you would wouldn't you? Now are you going to start helping me here or not?_" The Doctor asked, waving his screwdriver around. "Anything?" He asked Vincent.

"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it." Vincent told him, seemingly amused.

"Ooh."

"Duck!" Vincent and I both shouted.

"Left." The painter called, making the Doctor jump the wrong way. He was thrown into the air and stopped when he hit the wall. The Doctor and I both cried in pain. "Right, sorry. Your right, my left."

I stumbled over to the Doctor's side. "Could you have hit that wall any harder?" I asked him, kneeling down next to him.

"Sorry. I'll try to be more careful the next time I'm hit by an invisible monster." I rolled my eyes at him and pulled him off the ground. "This is no good at all. Run like crazy and regroup."

"Oh, come on, in here." Amy said, opening a large wooden door. We all followed her in but struggled to close the door behind us.

I looked and saw the Krafayis stopping the door from closing. "Oh, move your bloody foot so we can close the door." I yelled, focusing and letting a flare of energy release. The foot quickly retracted and we heard a cry of pain as we closed the door.

"Right. Okay. Here's the plan. Summer, Amy, Rory…" I quickly elbowed the Doctor to get him to shut up.

"Who?" Amy asked

"Sorry. Er, Vincent." The Doctor corrected.

"_Yeah, nice save._" I told him.

"What is the plan?" Amy asked him. We were all starting to feel very nervous. Only two of us could see the monster, and the Doctor was getting a little frantic.

"I don't know, actually. My only definite plan is that in future I'm definitely just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws." He declared, tucking it back into his inside jacket pocket.

"Give me a second, I'll be back." Vincent said before running off and leaving the three of us to defend the door.

"I suppose we could try talking to him." I suggested. The Doctor gave me a huge smile, and I could see he was proud of me.

"Talking to him?" Amy repeated in horror. She didn't seem to be as keen on the idea as the Doctor and I did.

"Well, yes. Might be interesting to know his side of the story. Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment." The Doctor said before the Krafayis banged on the door.

"Well, no harm in trying." I told him, encouraging him to get on with it.

The Doctor nodded at me. "Listen. Listen!" He shouted, making the banging stop. "I know you can understand me, even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please, listen. We also don't belong on this planet. We're also alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then, and then, who knows?"

"I don't trust this silence." I whispered, just before one of the huge windows smashed and the Krafayis came into the room with us. "Wait a minute…" I said, watching the creature closely.

"Over here mate." Vincent shouted, holding out his easel in front of him, the sharp points aiming at the beast. We all grouped with Vincent, ducking behind a stone coffin.

"What's it up to now?" The Doctor asked, still not able to see it.

"It's moving around the room. Feeling its way around." Vincent told him, watching the beast.

"What?"

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room." Vincent continued to give the commentary.

"I can't see a thing." Amy moaned.

Then it hit me. I looked hard at the Krafayis, and there it was. "_Theta, it's blind._"

The Doctor looked at me in surprise. "I am really stupid."

"Oh, get a grip. This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self-esteem." Amy called to the Doctor, slightly louder than I would have liked.

"No, I am really stupid, and I'm growing old. Why does it attack but never eat its victims? And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? And why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room? It can't see. It's blind." The Doctor concluded. "Yes, and that explains why it has such prefect hearing!" He shouted.

"Oh, you loud mouthed idiot." I hissed at the Doctor.

"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us." Vincent said, jumping up and hoping the legs of the easel out in front of him.

"Vincent. Vincent, what's happening?" The Doctor asked.

"It's charging now. Get back. Get back!" He shouted, forcing us all to stay behind him. I watched in horror as the Krafayis was struck with the points of the easel. Then came his painful cries, the helplessness of a creature abandoned and afraid. "He wasn't without mercy at all. He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never mean to…"

I took a step closer to the Krafayis. "He's trying to say something." I said, doing my best to listen to the creature.

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

The Doctor kneeled down next to me. "I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying…"

"I'm afraid. I'm afraid." I said, letting a tear roll down my cheek.

"There, there. Shush, shush. It's okay. It's okay. You'll be fine. Shush." The Doctor said, stroking the dying creature.

"Go to sleep now, and the pain will go away." I whispered, placing a hand on the Krafayis and releasing a small flare of energy.

"He was frightened, and he lashed out. Like humans who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me." Vincent said sadly.

"Sometimes winning… winning is no fun at all." The Doctor said, pulling me closer to him and holding me tightly. He could see that I was upset, he wasn't exactly jumping around for joy either.

Soon, we were all lying in the field, looking up at the night sky. All of us were holding hands, my own held the Doctor's and Vincent's.

"We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the night sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact a deep blue." Vincent said, trying to help us see what he sees.

"And over there, lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through, the stars. Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes." I couldn't help but smile. Vincent Van Gogh was anything but mad.

"I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see." The Doctor told him, smiling away.

"I will miss you terribly." Vincent said, looking directly at me. I gave him a sad smile, I knew I had to leave him again.

We ended up spending the night with Vincent again. After all, it had been a very tiring day and none of us were really ready to leave the brilliant painter just yet.

"I only wish I had something of real value to give you." Vincent said as the Doctor help up the self-portrait against the painter.

"Oh, no, no, no. I could never accept such an extraordinary gift." The Doctor said, handing it back to him.

"Very well. You're not the first to decline the offer." He said, putting the paint down on a chair. "Amy, the blessed, the wonderful." He opened his arms and Amy went straight towards him.

"Be good to yourself, and be kind to yourself." Amy said, kissing both his cheeks and hugging him.

"I'll try my best." Vincent told her with a smile.

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone." Amy suggested.

"I will, I will. And if you tire of this Doctor and Star of yours, return, and we will have children by the dozen." The painter told her before turning to the Doctor. "Doctor, my friend. We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well."

The Doctor didn't say anything to him, he just hugged the man. I could see the Doctor was sad, we both knew what was going to happen to Vincent in a few months, and neither of us liked it.

"Ah, my Star. Who can change her face so that I can't even recognise her." Vincent said, coming to hug me as well.

"Oh, Vince. I'm still me, I always will be. You just remember that." I told him, kissing his cheek and laughing a little with him.

"You must visit again. Or at least stay in touch this time." He said, as we finally broke apart. I didn't answer him, I couldn't.

We left the house, making our way back to the TARDIS. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor asked Amy, already knowing I was actually thinking the same thing as him.

"I was thinking I may need some food or something before we leave." Amy answered, strolling along happily.

"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking." The Doctor said before stopping and turning around to face the house again. "Vincent!" He called. We saw the man lean out of his widow. "I've got something I'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first."

We waited for him to get cleaned up and dressed and then the four of us headed back to the TARDIS.

"_Oh, finally I am going to be able to tell him the truth._" I said as we walked down the alley where the TARDIS was parked.

"Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility there might be more to life than normal people imaging?" The Doctor asked him, before letting out a groan as he saw the posters plastered all over the TARDIS.

"Yes."

"Well, brace yourself Vinny." The Doctor said, running the key to the TARDIS along to posters before putting it in the lock and opening the door.

We all watched as Vincent stepped inside, then back out again, circling the TARIDS. The three of us had to contain our laughter and amusement.

"How come I'm the crazy one, and you three have stayed sane?" Vincent asked, stepping back inside again. This time we followed him in, Amy closing the door behind her.

"The Doctor has never been sane, Vince." I called, dashing up to the console where he was looking at everything there.

"What do these things all do?" He asked.

"Oh, a huge variety of things. This one here, for instance, plays soothing music." The Doctor flipped a switch and some music came on. "While this one makes a huge amount of noise." He pulled a lever, a huge grin on his face. "And this one makes everything go absolutely tonto." He said, doing something else and making the TARDIS shake.

Vincent struggled to stay on his feet but eventually caught hold of the scanner and began laughing with the rest of us.

After telling him a few more of the buttons and contraptions on the console, Vincent suggested going back to the café so that we could explain it all more to him.

"Good idea. Although, actually, there's a little something we'd like to show you first." I said, taking his hand and dragging him towards the door.

"Where are we?" He asked, stepping outside.

"Paris, 2010 AD. And this is the mighty Museé d'Orsay, home to many of the greatest paintings in history." I told him, dragging him with me as the Doctor and Amy caught up to us.

"Oh, that's wonderful." Vincent said, taking his hat off.

I hurriedly pulled him into the building and up the stairs. He kept stopping, wanting to look at the art work, but I knew there was something so much better for him to see. I didn't let go of his hand until we had reached our destination, Van Gogh's exhibition.

Vincent looked around the room, utterly stunned and shocked. He was completely lost for words. I pulled him over towards the Doctor slightly as he began speaking to Doctor Black.

"I just wondered, between you and me, in a hundred words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, big question, but to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly, the most popular great painter of all time. The most beloved." Doctor Black answered. I kept a close eye on Vincent, I knew this was going to be hard for him, but I knew he could handle it. "To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

The Doctor turned to look at Vincent who was now in tears. "Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" The Doctor asked him.

"No. They are tears of joy." Vincent said before approaching Doctor Black. "Thank you, sir. Thank you." Vincent said, kissing the man on both cheeks.

"You're welcome. You're welcome." He replied, slightly taken back by the man's actions.

"Sorry about the beard." Vincent said before the four of us disappeared and out of the museum.

The TARDIS landed not too far from Vincent's home. "This changes everything." The man said, stepping out of the blue box. "I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man. I still can't believe that one of the haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing."

"It's been a great adventure and a great honour." The Doctor said, shaking his hand and hugging him again.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor to ever actually make a difference to my life."

"I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you." He said before heading back into the TARIDS.

"And you are sure marriage is out of the question?" He asked Amy.

"This time. I'm not really the marrying kind." Amy told him as she hugged him tightly. "Come on. Let's go back to the gallery right now." Amy said, heading into the TARDIS with the Doctor and leaving me alone with my old friend.

"So, you're off again?" Vincent asked me sadly.

"Yeah. But remember, I can come and visit you all the time. You've seen what that strange old box can do." I told him. "Just look up at the stars and I'll be there, always." I whispered to him as I hugged him tightly.

"You have showed me so much, I will never forget you."

"And I'll never forget you either, Vince. Take care of yourself, and be amazing. Okay?" I told him softly before heading back to the TARIDS.

We arrived back outside the museum. The Doctor and I didn't feel as happy or confident as Amy did as we made our way back towards the building.

"Time can be re-written. I know it can. Come on! Oh, the long life of Vincent Van Gogh. There'll be hundreds of new paintings." Amy called, she was so happy, and so sure.

"I'm not sure there will." The Doctor told her, wrapping his arm around my waist. I agreed with him, time can be re-written, but some points are fixed.

"Come on!" Amy said, dragging us both back into the exhibition.

"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh, who committed suicide at only 37. He is acknowledged to be one of the foremost artists of all time." Doctor Black announced to the group he was leading.

"So you were right. No new paintings. We didn't make a difference at all." Amy said sadly. I knew how disappointed she was.

"I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good thing and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant." The Doctor told Amy, hugging her, trying to comfort her.

"And we definitely added to his pile of good things. And, if you look carefully, maybe we did make a couple of little changes." I told her, pointing to the church and it's window.

"No Krafayis." Amy noticed.

"No Krafayis." The Doctor confirmed.

As the Doctor continued to inspect the painting, I took Amy by the hand and led her to a certain painting that I knew Vincent was going to have done. On a wall, on its own, was a painting of sunflowers. Written on the vase was a message, 'For Amy, Vincent.' The Doctor was close behind us and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"If we had got married, our kids would have had very, very red hair." Amy said, trying to fight back the tears still.

"The ultimate ginger." I mumbled.

"The ultimate ginge. Brighter than sunflowers." Amy said, still gazing at the painting.

We stayed at the gallery for a little while longer before heading back to the TARDIS. Amy went straight to her room, while the Doctor and I just sat in the console room.

* * *

**A/N: Ta Da! Hope you all enjoyed. I have big plans coming up for the next series. Now, I want the opinion of my lovely readers, shall I keep it all as one story or start another one for the next series? Fate is in your hands. **

**Now I have my baby back, updates should return to some normality. It was just awful having to use my old laptop where half the keys didn't work so I had a full size keyboard plugged in and sitting on top. Maybe it's time to get that repaired now as well. **

**As always, I love the reviews. I don't mind critical comments too much, just don't be too harsh with me. **

**Pippa.**


	23. The Lodger Pt1

**Disclaimer: After all my hard work, I still no not own Doctor Who. No matter how much I wish I did. **

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, and the follows/favourites. They really do make me smile, I love those little emails I get telling me. But on with the story.**

* * *

I stepped out of the TARDIS. We were in the wrong place, again. "You got it wrong again, dear." I called, waiting for him to come out and join me.

Less than a minute later he was beside me. "No, Amy, it's definitely not the fifth moon of Cindie Colesta. I think I can see a Ryman's." The Doctor said before we were both thrown away from the TARDIS and landed on the grass.

I was quick to get back onto my feet. "Amy!" I shouted, watching the TARDIS dematerialise. "Amy!" I looked over at the Doctor and saw the horrified expression on his face. We were stranded on Earth, and Amy was stuck in the TARDIS.

"Okay, this isn't good. This is very far from being good." The Doctor said as I helped him up off the ground.

"I know. But panicking isn't going to solve anything. So stay calm." I told him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "She's going to keep trying to land here. But something is stopping her from landing properly. We need to go and find out what that is." I told him, forcing his arm around me.

"And how do you propose we do that? Amy could be flung into the vortex and be lost for all eternity."

"Okay, you really need to calm down." I pulled my necklace out from under my top. "I'm connected to the TARDIS, remember. Everything will be fine." He was definitely a lot more panicked than normal.

"You're right. Sorry." He said quietly.

I smiled at him. "It's okay, I forgive you." I said before pulling him down and quickly kissing him, surprising him. "Better?" I asked him when I finally pulled away from him. He just nodded at me, unable to speak for some strange reason. "Right, time to go investigate then."

The rest of that day and the whole of the evening, we spent wandering round. The Doctor had no idea what to do, and he was panicking about Amy. But he forgot that I was with him, and I had a way to communicate with Amy. All I needed to do was make a few tweaks to some of the odd little devices I had in my pockets.

With everything I had on me I was able to make an ear pod, which the Doctor took charge of immediately. Now at least one of us was able to talk to Amy in the TARDIS. We sat on the bench in the park. I had to admit I was feeling pretty bored and fed up.

"What's the matter?" The Doctor asked, wrapping both his arms around me.

"Nothing. Just really have a bad feeling about all of this." I told him.

He placed a hand under my chin and forced me to face him. "Now who needs to calm down?" He asked before kissing me, just as I had done to him.

"Sorry. I'm just worried, Amy is stuck in the TARDIS on her own. This isn't exactly how I saw the day going." I told him, resting my head against him.

"I know you are. And I know when you're worried that I need to be extra worried." The Doctor said, letting out a sigh. "In the morning we'll go and try to find out what's happening. We're going to have to be careful, blend in."

I let out a little laugh. "Easier said than done. I can blend in easily, not so sure about you." I told him. "But I wouldn't have you any other way."

We started walking away from the park we had ended up being stranded in when morning finally came and found out way to a little newspaper shop. I stopped and looked in the window.

"Well, that looks suspicious." I said, nodding to one of the adverts posted in the window.

"What does?" The Doctor asked.

I rolled my eyes and pointed to the advert that I was looking at. "That would appear to be Amy's handwriting. And I do believe she used your pen to write it."

The Doctor got the advertisement out of the window and we were on our way to the address that Amy had sent us to. Of course, the Doctor had to make a few stops on the way, and I had to keep getting him back on task.

"Well, this looks like the house." The Doctor said as we finally came to the right address.

"Yeah, there's something… not right about it." I told him, looking hard at the building. There was something about it that didn't feel right, but I didn't know what it was.

The Doctor frowned at me. "Well, it's a good job we're here then isn't it?"

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess." I said, feeling really very nervous.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked, his frown turning more into worry now.

"I think so. I mean, I don't really know. Whatever is affecting the TARDIS, well it's making me really feel uneasy." I told him.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Don't worry, we will sort this out. Everything will be fine." He assured me before ringing the doorbell.

The red front door opened and a slightly overweight man stood there. "I love you." The man said, making me giggle.

"Well, that's good, because we're you new lodgers." The Doctor said, eyeing the keys before taking it. "Do you now, this is going to be easier than I expected."

"But I only put the advert up today. I didn't put my address." The man informed us.

"Well, aren't you luck we came along? More lucky than you know." The Doctor said, following my gaze and looking at the upstairs of the building. "Less if a young professional, more of an ancient amateur, but frankly I'm an absolute dream." I elbowed him in the side. "Oh, and so is she. Not as ancient, not really an amateur either."

"_Rambling._" I warned him.

"Hang on a minute, mate. I don't know if I want you staying. And give me back those keys. You can't have those." He snatched the keys from the Doctor.

"Yes, quite right. Have some rent." The Doctor said, putting a paper bag in the man's hands. "That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell." He rambled again.

"He never lets me look after the money. Afraid I will spend it all on handbags and shoes." I said, shaking my head as the Doctor pushed past and into the hallway. The man followed behind him so I decided I might as well follow and closed the door behind me.

"Don't spend it all on sweets. Unless you like sweets. I like sweets." The Doctor told him, looking up the stairs.

"He likes jelly babies." I told the man, slipping my hand it to the Doctor's and staring at the door at the top of the stairs. "_Something is seriously wrong up there. I can feel it._" I told the Doctor. He looked at me and nodded.

He spun around, taking me with him, and air kissed the man on both cheeks. "That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it?" He asked. I just shook my head at him. "I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor. I don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. Still don't know why. And this is Summer."

"Craig Owens. The Doctor?" The man questioned, just like everyone else who ever met him did.

"Yep. Who lives upstairs?" I asked him, not taking my eyes off the door at the top.

"Just some bloke." Craig replied.

"What's he look like?" The Doctor asked him, sensing my anxiety.

"Normal. He's very quiet." Craig said, before we heard a crash from upstairs. "Usually. Sorry, who are you again?" Craig asked as the Doctor dragged me into Craig's flat. "Hello? Excuse me?"

"Ah, I suppose that's dry rot?" The Doctor asked, looking at something nasty and rotten on the ceiling and spreading down the wall.

"Or damp. Or mildew." Craig said casually.

"Or none of the above." I mumbled, squeezing the Doctor's hand tightly.

"I'll get someone in to fix it." Craig told us both.

"No, I'll fix it. I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister. No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, he does ramble. A lot." I whispered to Craig, while the Doctor looked around some more.

"This is the most beautiful parlour I have ever seen. You're obviously a man of impeccable taste. We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can." The Doctor pleaded.

"You haven't even seen the room yet." Craig reminded him.

"The room?" The Doctor questioned.

"Our room." I told him.

"Our room? Oh, yes. Our room. Our room. Take us to our room." The Doctor said excitedly.

We followed Craig to the room we were planning on renting. "Yeah, this is Mark's old room. He owns the place. Moved out about a month ago. This uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money in the will." Craig said as the Doctor looked around the room.

It was pretty basic, and the decorating was something from the eighties. It really wasn't much, but then we weren't really planning on staying long.

"How very convenient. This'll do just right. In fact…" The Doctor said.

"_Mental note number two. Change the will._" I told the Doctor. We had to get Amy to write the note, and now we had to change a will.

There was another loud crash from upstairs. "No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah, you'll want to see our credentials." The Doctor said, pulling out his psychic paper. "There. National Insurance numbers. NHS numbers. References." He quickly flashed the paper to him.

"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?" Craig asked in shock.

"I'm his special favourite." I elbowed him in the side a little. "Well, Summer was as well. Are you hungry? I'm hungry." The Doctor announced.

"I haven't got anything in." Craig protested as the Doctor dragged me out of the room.

The Doctor pulled open the fridge and I let out a sigh, I knew what was coming next. "You've got everything Summer needs for an omelette." I shook my head and started grabbing things out from the fridge and cupboard. "So, who's the girl on the fridge?" The Doctor asked, noticing the picture.

"My friend, Sophie."

"Girlfriend?" I asked, cracking some eggs into a pan.

"A friend who is a girl. There's nothing going on." Something told me that Craig was a little disappointed that there was nothing going on.

"Oh, that's completely normal. Used to work for me. Until my beautiful Summer here came back into my life. Don't know where I'd be without her now." The Doctor said, kissing my cheek as I cooked.

"You'd be in a lot of bloody trouble, that's where you'd be. So how did you meet her, Craig?" I asked.

"We met at work about a year ago, at the call centre." He said.

"Oh really, a communications exchange? That could be handy." The Doctor said, watching me and occasionally passing me ingredients.

"Firm's going down though. The bosses are using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do. I got a plan all worked out. But I'm just a phone drone. I can't go running in saying I know best." Craig paused for a moment. "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"Well, I've got one of those faces. People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around." The Doctor told him, smiling away at me.

"Right. Where's your stuff?" Craig wondered.

"Oh, don't worry, it'll materialise. If all goes to plan." The Doctor said, trying to interfere with the cooking and getting a slap on the hand.

"Why don't you lads go and sit down. I will bring the food over when it's ready. Stop this one for getting in my way all the time." I said, nodding at the Doctor. He started pouting at me. "What did I tell you? I'm immune to those faces." I said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek to keep him happy.

"So, are you married then? I mean, I can see you're a couple." Craig asked from the sofa.

"Yes. Well, no. It depends on what you class as married." The Doctor said, getting a little flustered.

"We've been together for a long time. We might as well be married, never actually found the time to do it." I called, saving the Doctor from his embarrassment.

"Known each other for a long time then?" Craig asked, more me than the Doctor.

"Since we were kids. Feels like centuries ago now." I told him, a smirk on my face.

"_Are you trying to make me feel old?_" The Doctor asked me.

"_Hey, if you're old, then so am I. Remember that._" I told him, keeping my focus on cooking.

"Anyway, who want's omelette?" I said, grabbing three plates from the cupboard. "Come on then, let's eat." I said, dishing it up and taking it over to the lads.

"Oh, that was incredible. That was absolutely brilliant." Craig exclaimed after we had all demolished our food. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris, in the eighteenth century." The Doctor said before I could answer. "No, hang on, that's not recent, is it? Seventeenth? No, no, no. Twentieth. Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?" Craig asked him.

"I tell him that all the time. People never really stop." I said, picking up the empty plates and taking them to the kitchen area.

"Ever been to Paris, Craig?" The Doctor asked him as I started the washing up.

"Nah. I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveller." Craig answered, relaxing on the sofa.

"I can tell from your sofa." The Doctor told him.

"My sofa?"

"You're starting to look like it."

"_Rude. Again. Stop being rude_." I told the Doctor.

Craig let out a short laugh. "Thanks, mate, that's lovely. No, I like it here. I'd miss it, I'd miss…"

"Those keys." I called from the kitchen area. He had been holding them ever since we arrived.

"What?" Craig called, looking over the back of the sofa and at me.

The Doctor looked at the keys in Craig's hand. "You're sort of… fondling them." I nodded at the Doctor. That was exactly what he had been doing.

"I'm holding them." He protested, finally stopping and just holding them.

I giggled a little. "Right." I said sarcastically.

"Anyway." Craig called, jumping off the sofa and over to the sideboard. "These, these are your keys." Craig announced, dangling two sets of keys in front of him.

"We can stay?" The Doctor asked in shock and excitement.

"Yeah, you're weird and she can really cook. It's good enough for me." Craig gave me a smile, as did the Doctor.

"See, I told you your cooking was amazing." I rolled my eyes at him and flicked some soap bubbles at him.

I notice Craig smiling away, it seemed that maybe this wasn't going to be too bad after all. "Right, outdoor, front door, your door." Craig said, showing the Doctor the different keys.

"My door. My place. My gaff. Ha ha! Yes. Me with a key." The Doctor said excitedly. It was nice to see him so strangely excited about having a set of keys. The only key he was used to owning was the one for the TARDIS.

"And listen, Mark and I, we had an arrangement where if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, okay?" Craig said, more to the Doctor than to me.

"Why would I want that?" The Doctor asked in confusion. I shook my head and dried my hands before going and standing with the lads.

"In case you want some… time alone." Craig's answer made both the Doctor and I go bright red. That cleared things up for the Doctor, and I saw exactly what he was thinking, that made me blush.

"Oh, I will. I'll shout if that happens. Yes. Something like, 'I was not expecting this!'" The Doctor hollered.

I shook my head, that was not exactly what Craig had meant when he had said that. "By the way, that." I pointed to the blackening patch on the ceiling and wall. "The rot. I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it."

"Yes. I completely agree." The Doctor said, pulling me closer to him.

"Now, if you men will excuse me, I have a slight headache coming on." My head had been feeling a little fuzzy ever since we lost the TARDIS.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked, giving me a very concerned look.

"Yeah, like I said, slight headache. Nothing to worry about. Now, you behave mister." I said, giving him a one armed hug and a kiss in the cheek.

"I always behave." He told me, pouting.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Enough with the pouty faces already. I'll see you in a bit." He let me go and I walked to our room. I knew he was still watching me, and I knew he was worried as well. "_I'm fine. Just stressed a little, as you can tell._" I reassured him as I threw myself on the bed.

"_As long as that's all it is._" He was worried, he always worried.

"_You'd know if anything was wrong, remember that. I'm going to try to get a little sleep. Clear my head. Don't worry about me so much okay?_"

"_I always worry about you._" I shook my head and closed my eyes. It was just a headache, I was starting to feel slightly sick as well. I know it wasn't from anything I had eaten, it was from whatever was stopping the TARDIS from landing.

I let out a sigh and curled up on the bed. I knew that he would probably come and check on me soon, but that was okay. He just needed to stop worrying so much.

"Earth to Pond, Earth to Pond. Come in Pond." I heard the Doctor whisper. He was being quiet so that he didn't wake me up, but I was already starting to wake.

"_Doctor!_" Amy called, making the Doctor flinch from the screeching noise that came through the ear pod.

"Oi, I was sleeping thank you, Amelia." I called. It was very rare for me to call her that, usually when I was in a bad mood, which wasn't very often.

"_Sorry._" She called back.

The Doctor frowned. "Could you not wreck my new ear piece, Pond? And wake up my beautiful bond?" I looked up at him and realised that I had cuddled up to the Doctor when he had got himself comfortable on the bed. "How's the TARDIS coping?" He asked after kissing my head.

"_See for yourself._" Amy said, before we heard the terrible noise coming through from the other end.

"Ooh, nasty. She's locked in a materialisation look, trying to land again. But she can't." He replied.

"Told you." I mumbled, not moving from where I was resting on his chest.

"_Hmm. And whatever's stopping her is upstairs in that plat. So, go upstairs and sort it._"

"We don't know what it is yet. Anything that can stop the TARDIS form landing is big. Scary big." He informed her.

"_Wait, are you scared?_"

"I can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it. And it is vital that this man upstairs doesn't realise who and what we are. So no sonicking. No advanced technology. I can only use this because Summer is brilliant and we're on scramble. To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish." The Doctor said, speaking slightly louder for the last part.

"Now, all we've got to do is pass as ordinary human beings. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?" He asked. There were so many things I wanted to say to that, to answer his question, but I knew Amy was ready and will to do it for me.

"_Well, Summers going to be just fine then, but you? Have you seen you?_" She asked.

"So you're just going to be snide? No helpful hints?"

"_Hmm. Well, here's one. Bow tie, get rid._" I couldn't help but giggle a little at that. His dress sense certainly was odd in this regeneration. But then, so had a few of his others.

"Bow ties are cool. Come on, Amy. I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do."

"_They watch telly, they play football, they go down the pub._"

"I could do those things. I don't, but I could." As soon as he had finished talking, I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my head and we heard a loud bang from upstairs. "Hang on. Wait, wait, wait. Amy?" He called, not yet noticing my pain.

"I think I'm going to be sick." I warned him as I rolled away from him on the bed. The pain in my head was getting worse, and I felt like someone was tugging at my insides.

"Star? What's wrong?" The Doctor asked in a panic, wrapping his arms around me.

"Localised time loop." I mumbled, causing the Doctor to look down at his watch and the clock on the table beside the bed.

"_What's all that?_" Amy shouted. I could hear her being thrown around in the TARDIS, and my head was still pounding.

"Time distortion. Whatever's happening upstairs is still affecting you." He told Amy before looking over at me hunched up on the bed. "And Star." He whispered, wrapping his arms around me again.

"_It's stopped. Ish._" Amy told him. I also noticed the pain starting to fade, and the nausea starting to pass. I was starting to feel a little bit more normal, well, as normal as I could be. "_How about your end?_"

"My end's good." He told her before pulling my face towards him. "Star, you okay?" I just nodded at him slightly.

"_So, doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?_" Amy asked.

The Doctor looked at me, knowing he was going to lie to Amy. "No, no, no, not really. Just keep the zigzag plotter on full. That'll protect you." After a moment I heard a screeching noise come from Amy's end. "Amy, I said the zigzag plotter."

"_I pulled the zigzag plotter._" She shouted over the noise.

"What, you're standing with the door behind you?" The Doctor asked, keeping a close eye on me.

"_Yes._"

"Amy, take two steps to your right a pull it again." I called, knowing that she was standing in the wrong position for it to work properly.

"Now, I must not use the sonic. We've got work to do. Need to pick up a few items." The Doctor told Amy before he disconnected the ear pod so that Amy could no longer hear him. "What happened?" He asked me, pulling me closer to him.

I let out a sigh. "Whatever is going on upstairs, messed with the TARDIS, and because of the link, it messed with me as well." I told him, pulling my chain out from under my top.

I saw a frown forming on his face. "And are you okay now?"

I knew he was worried, he always worried. "For now, yes. But we really need to find out what's going on upstairs. It felt like someone was trying to pull me apart from the inside. And my head felt like it was about to explode."

"Right, well I don't want to leave you here on your own. We are going out to collect everything we need to…"

I rolled my eyes. "Make a scanner that him upstairs can't detect. Yes I know." I let out a sigh. "Come on then, let's get a move on." I pushed myself off the bed and grabbed hold of his hand.

We ended up going back to the flat with a shopping trolley full of random junk. We managed to get it all inside without waking Craig up, which was a miracle really, considering the amount of noise the Doctor was making.

He started piling everything onto the bed, which I was quick to remove. "Excuse me, do you expect me to sleep on the floor tonight?" I asked him, glaring at him as best I could.

"Oh, um, no. Of course not, sorry." I shook my head at him and threw myself on the bed. "Everything okay?" He asked, joining me on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm actually really tired. Don't really know why." I told him, shifting over on the bed and pulling his arm so they were around me.

"Well, you better get some sleep then." He said, kissing the top of my head. I instantly relaxed and closed my eyes. I knew that as long as he was there I was safe, and nothing was going to happen to me.

When I woke up, I found that the Doctor wasn't there. I frowned as I pulled myself out of the bed and started to make it. I stopped when I heard the Doctor shouting for Craig. I yanked the door open and saw the Doctor running out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"What happened, what's going on?" The Doctor asked, meeting Craig at the bottom of the stairs. I had to stop myself from laughing as he aimed Craig's toothbrush at the flat upstairs.

"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig asked, also noticing it.

"Correct. You spoke to the man upstairs?" The Doctor asked him, before noticing me standing in the doorway smiling at him.

"Yeah."

"What did he look like?" The Doctor questioned.

Craig laughed a little. "More normal than you do at the moment, mate. What are you doing?" Craig was rather amused at the Doctor's actions.

"He thought you were in trouble." I said, stepping out and to the Doctor.

Craig laughed again. "Thanks. Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush." Craig said before his phone started ringing back inside the flat. He rushed back inside, leaving the Doctor and I looking up the stairs.

"Doctor, stop. Don't you dare go any further." I growled at him as he started making his way up the stairs. He didn't listen to me and so I decided to head back into the flat without him.

I saw Craig on the phone. "No, Dom's in Malta. There's nobody around." He said, just the Doctor walked back in with a woman who I recognised as Sophie. "Hang on a sec." He turned to look at the Doctor. "We've got a match today, pub league. We're one down if you fancy it?"

"Pub league. A drinking competition?" He asked. I shook my head at him, he really could not do normal.

"No, football. Play football." Craig told him. I decided to leave them to talk about the game and went to introduce myself to Sophie.

"Hi, you must me Sophie. I'm Summer, the other half to the madman in the towel with the toothbrush." I said, giving her a smile.

"Hello." She said to me, before heading over to Craig.

"Hey, Soph." Craig greeted her, as the Doctor opened the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk.

"Hey, I thought I'd come early and meet you new flat mates."

"Do you play Sophie?" The Doctor asked her, going to drink the milk straight from the carton. I quickly pulled it out if his hands and glared at him. He immediately screwed the top back on.

"_We are not in the TARDIS. You cannot drink the milk straight from the carton._" I warned him.

"_Sorry. This is why I need you, to look after me._" He turned and smiled at me, before giving me a quick kiss in the cheek.

"No, Soph just stands on the side lines. She's my mascot." Craig answered before Sophie had the chance to.

Sophie looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm your mascot? Mascot?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, yeah, not my mascot. It's a football match. I can't take a date." Craig said nervously. I watched them both carefully, it was clear to me that they both liked each other, but neither of them wanted to admit it to the other.

"I didn't say I was your date." Sophie told him.

"Neither did I." Craig said quickly. I hid my smile behind my hand as we fell into an awkward silence.

"Right, better get this one dressed." I said, taking the toothbrush from the Doctor and handing it to Craig.

"The spare kit's just in the bottom draw." Craig called as we both headed into our bedroom.

"Bit of a mess." The Doctor told him, stopping him for following us in behind. He shut the door and turned to me. "How you feeling this morning?"

"Much better than I was yesterday, that's for sure." I told him, stepping closer to him and reaching my arms up, wrapping them around his neck. "Going to be… interesting watching you play football. I don't think you have ever played it before."

I looked at his face and saw him frowning. I let him go as he headed towards the door and pulled it open. "You unlocked the door. How did you do that? Those are your keys." He pointed to the keys Craig had been constantly playing with before. "You must have left them last time you came here."

I poked my head out of the door with the Doctor and looked at Sophie, waiting for her response. "Yeah, but I… How do you know these are my keys?" She asked.

"I've been holding them." Craig told her, a hint of red showing on his cheeks.

"I have got another set." Sophie said, holding up the keys in her other hand.

I frowned. "You've got two sets of keys to someone else's house?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I see." The Doctor said grinning a little. "You must like it here too."

I pulled the Doctor back inside the room and closed the door. "Right, come on you. Let's get you ready for your game of football. I have to say I'm actually looking forward to it." I told him, getting the spare kit out from the draw. "Better let Amy know what's going on as well."

"Earth to Pond. Earth to Pond." The Doctor called down the ear piece.

"_Pond here._" I heard Amy call. I was glad to know that she was still okay in the TARDIS.

"So, We're going out. If we hang about the house all the time, him upstairs might get suspicious and notice us." He told her, putting the shirt on the wrong way. I shook my head and quickly helped him to turn it the right way around.

"_Okay, well done. That is normal._" Amy sounded rather surprised.

"Yeah, football. All outdoorsy. Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?" He asked, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Don't worry, Amy. I will be there to keep an eye on him. Call us if anything happens." I told her, knowing that she was most likely losing all hope of the Doctor ever being normal.

It was long until the four of us were making our way to the park. The Doctor was overly excited, which really worried me. Usually when he got excited, something bad happened, and I was hoping for a nice, calm day.

"What are you actually called? What's your proper name?" Craig asked the Doctor as we neared the football pitch.

"Just call me the Doctor."

"I can't go up to these guys and say hey, these are my new flat mates, he's called the Doctor and that's his girlfriend, Summer." Craig protested.

"Why not?" The Doctor asked. Sometimes I thought it would just be easier if he had said his name was John Smith. Since we were staying on Earth, it would have been so much easier.

"Because it's weird." Craig told him as we made it to the pitch.

A man came walking over to us. "All right, Craig, Soph. All right, mate." He said to the Doctor before looking over at me. "Hello." I saw a twinkle in the man's eyes, and so had the Doctor.

"Hello, we're Craig's new flat mates. I'm called the Doctor and this is my brilliant Summer." He said, making sure to wrap an arm around me to show the man that I was spoken for.

I saw the slight look of disappointment on his face. "All right, Doctor, Summer. I'm Sean. So, where are you strongest?"

"Arms." The Doctor replied, not understanding what Sean was talking about.

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, he means what position on the field." The Doctor gave me a quizzical look. "Funnily enough, I actually know quite a lot about football. Used to watch it a lot and when I was at school I used to play on the girls team as well." I whispered to him.

He nodded at me before turning back to Sean. I knew he was going to ask more about it later. I hadn't really told him much about my life as a human, and I knew there was a lot that he wanted to know. "Not sure. The front? The side? Below." The Doctor offered.

Sean looked at him, slightly worried. "Are you any good though?"

"Let's find out." He said, taking off his jacket and tossing it at me before running off onto the pitch with the ball.

Craig and Sean followed after him while I went and stood to the side with Sophie. I watched the Doctor as he ran around the pitch, actually playing rather well.

"So, how long have you known the Doctor for?" Sophie asked.

"I've known him since we were kids. We went to school together." I told her, keeping my eyes focused on the Doctor.

"And you're not married?" She asked, seeming a little shocked.

"Nope, never really thought about it properly. I mean, it may have been mentioned once or twice along the years, but we're always on the move. Never found the right time." And then there was the Time War and we were apart for over a century.

"Doesn't it bother you at all? Do you never wonder if there isn't another reason why he hasn't asked?"

I turned to Sophie and smiled at her. "Should it bother me? I know that he loves me, and he knows that I love him. We're happy with the way things are." I was curious as to why she was asking all these questions. "Anyway, what about you and Craig?"

"What about me and Craig?" She asked in surprise.

"Well, from what I can see you like him, and he likes you as well. But neither of you have bothered to do anything about it." I told her, before letting out a cheer as the Doctor scored yet another goal.

"We're just friends, that's all." Sophie told me sadly. I could see it in her eyes, she wanted to be more than just friends. It was the same look that Craig had when he had been playing with her keys.

"So, you're going to keep on being just friends? Even though you both want more?" I asked her. I knew I was pushing it, but what was the harm in a little meddling since we were there.

She didn't answer me, but I saw her face blush a little. I shook my head a little. Why did humans always do that to themselves? All she had to do was ask him out or something.

"You are so on the team." Sean said happily after the game. The Doctor had done rather well and scored plenty of goals for the team. "Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor. We're going to annihilate them."

"Annihilate? No. No violence, do you understand me? Not while I'm around. Not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm." Everyone just stared at the Doctor as he spoke, it was clear to tell from his voice he was serious.

"_You're such a big idiot at times._" I told him softly.

"And you basically meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?" the Doctor realised.

"Yeah." Sean confirmed, slightly bemused.

"_Theta, something's wrong. I don't feel too great._" I told him, rubbing my forehead.

"Lovely, what sort of time?" He asked, wrapping his arm around me.

"Doctor, I really don't feel too good." I clutched hold of my stomach, the feeling of sickness I had before returning. I heard a can being opened, the sound of someone being sprayed with foam and people starting to laugh. And then I kept hearing it, over and over again.

"Amy? Amy?" The Doctor shouted, pulling me away from the scene that kept being replayed.

"_It's happening again. Worse._" She shouted. From what I could hear, thing's at her end were very bad.

"What does the scanner say?" The Doctor asked her, keeping a very tight hold on me. I couldn't help but keep thinking that I was going to throw up soon.

"_A lot of nines. Is it good that they're nines? Tell me it's good that they're all nines._" Amy pleaded, the panic rising in her voice.

"Yes, yes, it's good. Zigzag plotter. Zigzag plotter, Amy." After the Doctor had finished speaking all I could hear were Amy's screams. "Amy? Are you there? Amy?" The whole time my head just kept on pounding and the feeling of sickness grew stronger.

"_Yes. Hello._"

"Oh, thank heavens. I thought for a moment the TARDIS had been flung off into the vortex with you inside it, lost forever." I managed to elbow him in the side.

"_What, you mean that could actually happen?_" Amy asked. She was even more scared now than before. "_You have got to get me out of here._"

"Amy, how are the numbers?" I asked, starting to feel a little better. The time loop seemed to have stopped.

"_All fives._"

"Fives? Even better." The Doctor said, kissing the top of my head as we both looked over at the rest of the team by the bench, eating and drinking. "Still, it means the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous. But don't worry, hang on, okay? I've got some rewiring to do."

The Doctor ended the communication. "Are you okay?" He asked, concern etched across his face.

"I've definitely been better. Those time loops really don't seem to like me much, I feel like all my energy has just been sucked away." I told him, feeling a little light headed.

"Right, come on. You need to go home and rest." He said, leading me back over to the rest of the team. "Hello, we're heading off now."

"We were going to head to the pub for a bit, why don't you come with us?" Sean offered.

"Well, thank you for the offer, but Summer isn't feeling too well." We said our goodbyes and headed back to the flat.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all like it, remember to let me know what you thought. Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors, with all the computer issues I had, I think I may have missed a few things that should have been corrected. **

**Getting so close to the end of series 5 now, but I have big plans for series 6. A lot of people have suggested that I stick to the one story and not start a new one for series 6. This is your final chance to let me know what you think. **

**Love you all, you're all fantastically brilliant and amazing. **

**Pippa.**


	24. The Lodger Pt2

**Disclaimer: You all know the drill by now.**

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! I know it's been longer than it should have been. I blame Uni. But here it is, the next chapter.**

* * *

Neither of us spoke on the way back, and it didn't take us that long to reach the flat. Once we were there, I headed straight for the bedroom, I need sleep, which was annoying since I only slept the night before.

I pulled the duvet off the bed and grabbed a few pillows. "What are you doing, exactly?" The Doctor asked me when he saw what I was doing.

"Well, you're going to need the bed to build the scanner. Remember, I can sleep anywhere, so I'm just going to make myself comfy in the corner while you get on with your work." I told him, tossing the pillows on the floor and in the corner.

"I don't have to build it now. That can wait until you are feeling better." He protested.

"No, you really do need to do it now. We need to hurry up and find out what is going on upstairs. The longer we wait, the more danger Amy is in." I also wasn't sure how much more I would be able to take.

He let out a sigh. "Yes, fine." He knew he was defeated.

"Right, so you get to work, and I will keep quiet in the corner." I said, giving him a light kiss on the lips as I passed him to settle down in the corner.

A knock at the door woke me up. It was a few hours later and the scanner seemed to be coming along rather well.

"Hello, flat mate." The Doctor said as he answered the door, holding an orange traffic cone.

"Hey, man. Er, listen. Sophie's coming round tonight and I was wondering if you could both give us some space?" Craig asked. I knew what he was asking, and why.

"Oh, don't mind us. You won't even know we're here." There was a loud bang come from upstairs and I instantly sat upright, fearing the worse. "That's the idea. And besides, Summer still isn't very well." He quickly shut the door and got back to working on the scanner.

"How's it going?" I mumbled, leaning against the wall with the duvet wrapped around me tightly.

"The scanner is coming along nicely. How are you?" He asked, coming over and plonking himself on the floor beside me.

"Still a little tired. Be glad when we are out of here." I told him, letting out a sigh. I was desperate for the comfort of the TARDIS, I was missing not being able to talk to her as well.

"I promise you, we will be gone soon. Back to the TARDIS and on through time and space." He assured me, kissing the top of my head. "Right, back to work now." He said as he jumped off the floor.

"Are you seriously going to be rewiring the whole flat?" I asked him, recalling what he had said to Amy earlier.

"Yes. You feel like helping?" There was a hopeful glint in his eyes, and I knew he wanted me to do it with him.

"I suppose I could fix it when you mess it all up." I told him, earning myself a frown. "I think I'm going to just watch you at work first, you know, let you explain what you're doing."

"What are you trying to say?" He asked, helping me get up from my makeshift bed.

"Nothing at all, dear." I said, before my legs gave way and I almost ended up back on the floor. "Okay, a little light headed."

"Maybe you should rest some more." The Doctor said, the concern flooding from his face.

I let out a sigh and found a clear edge of the bed to sit on. "Fine. This trip is just getting more and more boring for me. I thought it would actually be fun, pretending to be human again, but all I've done is sleep." I moaned, wishing that I wasn't feeling so tired and weak from the time loop.

"Well, maybe you could help me by working on the scanner a little. I'm sure something isn't right but I just can't figure out what it is." He said, looking at the contraption taking up most of the bed.

"Sure." I answered, not very enthusiastically. I could already see what was wrong and it would take me less than a minute to fix it. But it was clear that he was worried about me and just wanted to make sure I was fine.

"Brilliant. Time for me to get to work." The Doctor kissed the top of my head again and crept out of the room.

After fixing the scanner so that it would actually work how it was meant to I started to get bored. The Doctor was pulling out wiring all over the place, and making a complete mess with it. I knew that all I had to do was wait and eventually he would call for me to go and help him.

It didn't take too long for him to need my help. I heard him in the living room, clearly having just disturbed Craig and Sophie.

"Just re-connecting all the electrics. It's a real mess. Where's the on switch for this?" I poked my head out of the door to see him hold a screwdriver, a normal, human, non-sonic screwdriver.

"_There isn't an on switch, that's a simple screwdriver._" I told him as I stepped out of the bedroom. "Come on, I thought we were going out?" I said, trying to get the Doctor to leave Craig and Sophie alone.

"No, you're still not well, we're not going out." The Doctor told me sternly as I went and stood next to him.

"They really are just on their way out." Craig assured Sophie while I glared at the Doctor.

"No, I don't mind. I mean, if you don't mind." Sophie said slightly nervously.

"I don't mind. Why would I mind?" It was clear from the way Craig was speaking that he did mind and that we were intruding.

"Then stay. Have a drink with us. And I mean, if Summer isn't well then she shouldn't really be going out should she." Sophie said, giving me a smile.

"What? Do we have to stay now?" The Doctor asked in confusion, looking between me and Craig.

"Do you want to stay?" Craig asked. I hoped that the Doctor would say no and we could just get out of their way, but he was so oblivious to what was going on.

"I don't mind." He replied, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer towards him.

"Okay." Sophie said, causing Craig so slouch back on the sofa.

The Doctor sat himself down in the armchair, wires hanging around his neck still. I sat myself on the floor in front of him, my own little pile of wires dangling in front of me as I began to untangle the mess that the Doctor had made.

"Because life can seem pointless, you know, Doctor. Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same thing." Sophie said, drinking her glass of wine.

"Six billion people. Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from." I said, keeping my focus fixed on the wires.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" She asked me. I just shook my head and carried on working.

"So then, the call centre. That's no good then. What do you really want to do?" The Doctor asked, drawing away from Sophie's questions.

"Don't laugh. I only ever told Craig about it. I want to work looking after animals. Maybe abroad? I saw this orang-utan sanctuary on telly." Sophie told us. I could hear the excitement in her voice when she told us, it sounded like something she really wanted to do.

"What's stopping you?" I wondered. I had a pretty good idea of what the real reason behind it could be, but was pretty sure she was not going to admit to it either.

"She can't." Craig said before she had a chance to answer. "You need loads of qualifications."

"Yeah, true. Plus it's scary. Everyone I know lives round here. Like, Craig got offered a job in London. Better money. He didn't take it." Sophie told us.

"What's wrong with staying here? I can't see the point of London." He answered, leaning back on the sofa some more.

"Well, perhaps that's you, then. Perhaps you'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable, till the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?" The Doctor told them both. I rolled my eyes as they both looked at him in shock.

"You think I'd fail?" Sophie wondered, clearly not impressed with what he had just said.

"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie. Very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" The Doctor said, reaching for the glass of wine. He took a mouth full and then spat it back into the glass again.

"_So, still don't like wine then, I noticed?_" I said as he leaned over me and put the glass back on the table.

"_Ugh, that is horrible._" He told me, kissing the top of my head before leaning back in the chair again.

"Why are you saying that? That's horrible." Sophie protested.

I looked up at her. "Is it true?" I asked.

"Of course it's not true. I'm not staying in a call centre all my life. I can do anything I want." She told us, making both the Doctor and I smile at her. "Oh, yeah. Right. Oh, my God. Did you see what they just did?" Sophie asked Craig.

"No, sorry, what's happening? Are you going to live with monkeys now?" Craig asked in confusion. He had not been able to spot what the Doctor and I had just done with Sophie. Well, it was more the Doctor, but I helped.

"It's a big old world, Sophie." The Doctor told her.

"Work out what's really keeping you here, yeah?" I said, giving her a look and then shifting my gaze onto Craig.

"I don't know." She said, shifting in her spot on the sofa. "I don't know."

The Doctor and I headed back to our room when Sophie announced that she was going home. The first thing the Doctor done was contact Amy to see how things were going in the TARDIS. There hadn't been any more time loops since the one earlier at the park, which was a relief.

"Right, shield's up. Let's scan." The Doctor cried, spinning the contraption on the bed that was made from all different kinds of things. There was a washing line, parts of a bicycle, a traffic cone, a rake, a broom and even an oar.

"_What are you getting?_" Amy asked.

"Upstairs, no traces of high technology. Totally normal." I said, watching it spinning around.

"No, no, no, no, no, it can't be. It's too normal." The Doctor cried. I rolled my eyes at him.

"_Only for you could too normal be a problem. You said I could be lost forever. Just go upstairs._" Amy prompted, not really knowing the full dangers we could face up there.

"Without knowing and get myself and Star killed? Then you really are lost. If I could just get a look in there…"

"Amy, do me a favour. Use the data bank and get me the plans of this building. The history, the layout, everything you can find, if you please." I called to her.

"Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy." The Doctor said, before turning the ear piece off.

"Your spy wouldn't be small and furry by any chance would it? Possibly one that likes to purr?" I asked him, feeling very confident that I knew where he was heading with the spy thing.

He looked at me in surprise. "How did you know?"

I shrugged my shoulder. "Well, I thought you might not like cats in this regeneration, since the last one wasn't so keen on them. So I have already recruited the cat."

I could tell from the look on his face that he was impressed that I had already thought about it and done exactly what he was going to do. "Good thinking. That's why you're brilliant. Now, are you absolutely sure that you're feeling better now?" He asked, making sure to pull me as close to him as he could.

"Yes. I am sure. Stop worrying." I told him, pulling him down and giving him a kiss.

The next morning I was clearing up in the kitchen after making breakfast for the three of us. The Doctor had insisted on taking Craig's to him in his room so I started to clear some things up while I waited for him to get back.

"Craig? Craig? Breakfast. It's normal. Craig?" I heard the Doctor calling through his door. I carried on when I suddenly felt the Doctor panicking and he ran back into the kitchen. "Right, reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules."

"He touched it didn't he?" I said, grabbing as many teabags as I could find and shoving them into the teapot the Doctor was holding.

"Yes, he did." The Doctor told me, before running back to Craig's bedroom. I was right behind him, ready to help.

I held Craig's head up as the Doctor pour the tea into his mouth. "I've got to go to work." Craig moaned. He was sweating and weak, there was no way he was going anywhere in his condition.

The Doctor looked at me and nodded, having read my thoughts. "On no account. You need to rest. One more." The Doctor poured more tea into his mouth before putting the teapot down.

"It's the planning meeting. It's important."

I shook my head at him. "You're important. You're going to be fine, Craig." I put his head back down on the pillow and the Doctor and I left the room.

"You're going to the call centre aren't you?" I asked him, knowing what he was thinking.

"Yes. It's the least I can do for him. You stay here and look after him. Keep an eye on him." He hugged me tightly, kissing my forehead. "I think I'm going to rather enjoy this."

"Behave. And try not to be too weird." I warned him, playfully hitting his arm. "I'll keep a close eye on Craig, so off you go." I pushed him towards the door, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before he left.

I checked on Craig every hour, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully and getting better. He was no longer sweating which was certainly a good thing.

"What? No, no, no, no, no, no, no." I heard Craig call from his room.

"Craig, what are you doing? You have to rest." I told him forcefully as he rushed out of his room, fully dressed and ready for work.

"I'm late, I have to get to work." He told me, dodging around me.

"No, Craig, you really need to get back in bed right now." He didn't listen to me and charged out of the door. I shook my head and hurried behind him, following him all the way to work.

"Oh, afternoon." A man called as Craig ran into the office, with me trailing along behind.

"I'm so sorry, Michael. I don't know what happened. I've got no excuse." Craig said apologetically.

"I think that's not what me screen is telling me, Mr Lang." The Doctor said. I looked over and saw him sitting at one of the desks with a headset on.

"What's he doing here?" Craig asked Michael, before turning to the Doctor. "What are you doing here?"

"If that's your attitude, Mr Lang, please take your custom elsewhere." The Doctor said before blowing a raspberry down the headset and ending the call. I just folded my arms across my chest and shook my head at him. Instantly he composed himself and tried to act serious, but it didn't last long.

"No, no, no, that's one of my best clients." Craig protested.

"Hello, Craig. How are you feeling? Had some time to kill. I was curious. Never worked in an office. Never worked in anywhere." The Doctor was smiling away. "Summer, you were meant to be looking after him."

I rolled my eyes. "And I was. Excuse me for not being able to stop him from running out of the front door and into work. Next time I'll lock every single door in the flat shall I?" I was not impressed with what he had said. I had told Craig not to leave the flat, but was intent on getting into work.

"You're insane." Craig called, making all of us look at him.

"Leave off the Doctor. I love the Doctor. And you must be Mrs Doctor?" Michael said, turning to me.

I raised an eyebrow and looked over at the Doctor. I couldn't help but notice how badly he was blushing and failing to hide it. "Yeah, that's me, but you can call me Summer. Mrs Doctor is just a bit too formal." I said, shaking the man's hand.

He smiled at me before turning back to Craig. "He was brilliant in the planning meeting."

Craig looked at the Doctor in even more shock than before. "You went to the planning meeting?"

"Yes. I was your representative. We don't need Mr Lang any more. Rude Mr Lang."

I smiled at Sophie as she came over. "Here you go, and I found some custard creams." She said, handing him a mug and a plate.

"Sophie, my hero." The Doctor said, placing them both down on the desk.

"Hi, Craig. I went on the web, applied for a wildlife charity thing. They said I could always start as a volunteer straight away. Should I do it?" Sophie asked, paying close attention to his response.

"Yeah, great. Yeah, good. Go for it." Craig said, not really paying Sophie any attention. I frowned at him as Sophie turned around and walked back to her desk.

"You look awful. About turn. Bed. Now. Summer, take him home. And make sure he stays there this time." I glared at him and he instantly shrunk back in the chair. "Who next? Oh, yes. Hello, Mr Joergensen."

I took hold of Craig by the arm and started leading him out of the office before he started shouting at the Doctor. He wasn't happy that he had taken on his job, and I wasn't happy about the way the Doctor was treating me.

Once we were back at the house I made sure Craig stayed on the sofa, while I sat in the armchair reading a book. After a while I got a little bored, having finished the book already and not finding much else to occupy myself with.

"I'm going to go and hit the shower. Do not move, Craig. Understood?" I told him firmly. He nodded at me and I made my way to the bathroom.

I hadn't realised just how much I needed a shower. Not because I was covered with filth, more because I needed a way to relax, and a shower was the best way for me to just let my mind drift.

"_I'm talking to our spy. Apparently lots of people go upstairs, but never come back down._" The Doctor told me.

"_Oh, well isn't that just lovely._" I called back to him, almost finished getting dressed again. Then I heard the front door open. At first I thought it was the Doctor but I knew he was still talking to the cat. I rushed out of the bathroom and saw the door open, Craig standing there watching the Doctor.

"Oh, hello." The Doctor said from his spot on the stairs when he noticed Craig.

"I can't take this anymore. I want you to go." Craig said before rushing back inside with the Doctor following behind him. "You can have this back and all." He thrust the brown paper bag with the money in it at the Doctor.

"What have I done?" The Doctor asked, clearly upset that Craig wanted us to leave.

"For a start, talking to a cat." Craig told him.

I went and stood beside the Doctor and he wrapped his arm around my waist. "Lots of people talk to cats." I told Craig.

"And everybody loves you, and you're better at football than me, and my job, and now Sophie's all oh, monkeys, monkeys, and then there's that." He opened the door to our room and pointed at the scanner.

"It's art. A statement on modern society. Ooh, ain't modern society awful." The Doctor said. I just rolled my eyes at him, that was now on the list of the worst excuses I had ever heard him say.

"Me and you, it's not going to work out. You've only been here three days. These have been the three weirdest days of my life." Craig called in frustration.

"Your days will get a lot weirder if we leave, Craig." I told him softly. I knew the Doctor was starting to stress.

"I thought it was good weirdness. It's not… it's bad weird. I can't do this anymore." Craig protested.

"Craig, we can't leave this place. We're like you, we can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid? Ha, what a dump. We have to stay." The Doctor insisted.

They both continued to argue until the Doctor finally gave in. "Right. Only way. I'm going to show you something, but shush. Really, shush. Oh, I am going to regret this. Okay, right. First, general background." The Doctor said, holding Craig's jacket roughly and then whacking hid head with his own.

I recoiled as I felt the pain. "That bloody hurt!" I shouted, glaring at the Doctor. "Warn me next time you idiot."

Both the lads also moaned in pain before Craig looked up in shock. "You're a…"

"Yes." The Doctor confirmed.

"From…"

"Shush." I warned him. I was not happy now.

"You've got a TARDIS." Craig exclaimed.

"Yes. Shush. Eleventh." He said, gesturing to his face. "Bond." He pointed at me. "Right. Okay, specific detail." They hit heads again and I felt the pain again as well.

"You saw my ad in the paper shop window." Craig called, after seeing how we had been thrown from the TARDIS and stranded.

"Yes, with this right above it." He showed him the note Amy had written. "Which is odd, because Amy hasn't written it yet. Time travel. It can happen."

Craig looked at the machine on the bed. "That's a scanner. You used non-technological technology of Lammasteen!"

"Shut up!" The Doctor and I both cried, while the Doctor also covered his mouth.

"I am never, never doing that ever, ever again." The Doctor said, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, you better not." I growled at him, feeling a light hint of energy building. That was actually the first time since we had been there that I had felt the energy.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" He asked, pulling me towards him and kissing my head. All I did was glare at him, and he realised that I was still not happy with him. "Amy?" He called, turning on the ear piece.

"That's Amy Pond." Craig exclaimed.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us now. Hurrah. Got those plans yet?"

"_Still searching for them_" I heard her call back.

"I've worked it out, with psychic help from a cat." Amy questioned him, not believe he had gotten help from a cat. "Yes. I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up."

"Hence the stain on your ceiling." I said to Craig.

"And you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the vortex. And Summer suffers from it as well because of her link."

We all heard a crash from upstairs and the sickness and headache hit me at full force. "Doctor, it's happening again." I cried, falling to my knees.

Craig got stuck in the loop, repeating his sentence, until he finally managed to break out of it. "They're being killed."

"Someone's up there." I managed to say, pushing myself off the floor. I felt the Doctor wrap his arms around me, holding onto me tightly. "Come on." I managed to pull myself away and moved as quickly as I could out of the front door.

The Doctor let me go and headed up the stairs. "Come on. Someone's dying up there."

Craig and I stood there look at the fluffy pink key that was hanging in the lock. "Sophie." I whispered.

"It's Sophie that's dying up there! It's Sophie!" Craig shouted before charging up the stairs with the Doctor. I followed right behind.

"_Doctor, Summer. Stop!_" Amy shouted.

"Wait, wait." The Doctor said, holding Craig back from running straight into the flat. "Amy?"

"_Are you upstairs?_" She asked.

"Just going in." He told her, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"_But you can't be upstairs._" Amy protested.

"Of course we can be upstairs." The Doctor told her. Then it hit me, I knew there had been something wrong from the moment I had seen this building, now I knew what it was.

"It's a one storey building. There is no upstairs." I said, watching the Doctor open the door to the flat.

"What? What?" Craig exclaimed as he looked around the flat.

"Oh, oh, of course. The time engine isn't in the flat, the time engine is the flat. Someone's attempt at building a TARDIS." The Doctor said in realisation.

"No, there's always been an upstairs." Craig protested.

"Has there? Think about it." I told him, trying to ignore the pain and the sickness that was trying to overcome me.

"Yes. No. I don't…"

"Perception filter. It's more than a disguise. It tricks your memory." The Doctor told him. That's when we heard Sophie screaming. As Craig rushed over to her I fell to my knees again, the pain was getting too much now. "Star, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked in a panicked voice.

"Help Sophie." I whispered to him before blacking out.

"Oh, for goodness sake. The top floor of Craig's building is in reality an alien space ship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No. Good." I heard the Doctor say as I started to come around.

"Yes. I have questions." I heard Sophie say.

"The correct pilot has now been found." It was a male voice, one that I didn't recognised.

"Yes, I was a bit worried that you were going to say that." I heard the concern in the Doctor's voice, then I felt something pulling me off the floor.

"Um, Doctor… I don't think he was talking about you somehow." I cried, feeling the energy from the time engine pulling me closer and closer.

"The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found."

"_What's happening?_" Amy asked.

"It's pulling Star in. She's the new pilot." The Doctor said, panicking even more and trying anything to get me free.

"_Could she do it? Could she fly the ship safely?_"

"Of course I can't." I shouted. "This is me, Amy. I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does. And possibly a few others as well."

"The correct pilot has been found."

"No, worst choice ever, I promise you. Stop this." The Doctor shouted, his arms around my waist trying to pull me back.

"_Doctor? It's getting worse._"

"It doesn't want everyone. Craig, it didn't want you." I cried, fighting the energy as much as I could.

"I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him."

"It didn't want Sophie before but now it does. What's changed? No, we gave her the idea of leaving. It's a machine that needs to leave. It wants people who want to escape. And you don't want to leave, Craig. You're Mr Sofa Man." The Doctor shouted.

"Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay." I told him, tears streaming down my face. The pain was unbearable.

Sophie protested, but Craig just ignored her. "Will it work?"

"Yes." The Doctor and I shouted together.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Is that a lie?" Craig asked.

I let out a groan of frustration. "Of course it's a lie. Hurry up or I'm going to blow this bloody thing up." I cried.

"It's good enough for me. Geronimo!" Craig cried as he slammed his hand down on the panel nearest to him. As soon as his hand touched it, I was let go and I fell back and into the Doctor's arms.

"Craig, what's keeping you here? Think about everything that makes you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?" I asked him, not letting go of my hold on the Doctor.

"Sophie. I don't want to leave Sophie. I can't leave Sophie. I love Sophie." Craig called.

Sophie stared at Craig in shock. "I love you too, Craig, you idiot." She said, before throwing her hand down on top of Craig's on the panel.

"Honestly, do you mean that?" Craig asked in amazement.

"Of course I mean it. Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously though, do you mean it?" Craig asked her again.

I couldn't take it anymore, especially when Craig decided to bring up the monkeys. "Oh, not now, not again. Craig, the planet's about to burn. For God's sake, kiss the girl!" I shouted. I heard Amy shout it as well and caught the Doctor grinning.

I felt sickness I was feeling subside. "I think, we really need to get out of here." I whispered to the Doctor.

"Did we switch it off?" Craig asked as he and Sophie finally broke apart.

"Emergency shutdown. It's imploding. Everybody out, out, out!" The Doctor cried, dragging me out of the fake flat and down the stairs. Once we were outside we all turned around to see the top floor of the building vanish.

"Look at them." Craig said, pointing to the people walking past. "Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished."

"Perception filter. There never was a top floor." I told him, resting my head against the Doctor's chest as he held me. "How could I have not seen that before? I noticed the Angels, why didn't I notice that?" I mumbled.

We all headed back into the flat. The Doctor and I went straight to our room and started taking apart the scanner. Once we were done I poked my head out of the door and noticed Craig and Sophie, getting a little cosy on the sofa. I signalled for the Doctor to follow behind me and we both crept to the door of the flat, leaving the keys on the side.

"Oi." Craig called, sitting up on the sofa.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" Sophie asked, getting off the sofa with Craig.

"Yes, well, you were sort of busy." The Doctor pointed out, keeping an arm around me.

"I want you to keep these." Craig said, handing us back our keys.

"Thank you. Because we might pop back soon, have another little stay." The Doctor said, inspecting the keys.

"No, you won't. I've been in your head, remember. I still want you to keep them."

"Thank you, Craig." I said, smiling at him and Sophie.

"Thank you, Doctor, Summer. Or should I call you Star?" Craig asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Summer will do just fine thanks. Sophie, now then. Six billion four hundred and twenty six people in the world. That's the number to beat." I told her.

The Doctor and I left and headed back to the park, where Amy and the TARDIS were both waiting for us. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the impossible blue box. I couldn't explain how much I had missed her, and Amy of course.

"Back in time." The Doctor announced, running around the console. "You need to go to the paper shop and leave that note for us."

"Right little matchmakers, aren't you? Can't you find me a fellow?" Amy asked.

"Oh, rectifier's playing up again, hold on." The Doctor said, dragging me away from the console with him. "You write the note, and we will change that will."

"Got a pen?" Amy called as I was dragged away with the Doctor.

"Make sure it's a red pen." I called back to her.

"So, better now?" The Doctor asked me, hugging my tightly.

"Definitely better now. Home, proper home. In the TARDIS." I let out a sigh. "No more headaches and feeling like I'm going to throw up."

"Good. Now come on, let's get that will sorted." He kissed my forehead and dragged me along the corridor with him. We were both happy to be back.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I am so sorry for it taking so long to update. I've been trying to get my assignment's done for university, and failing at doing them as well. After Friday, everything should go back to a much more acceptable pace. I promise. **

**Anyways, kindly let me know what you thought. I do love reading all your reviews. Especially when I'm trying to write an essay. **

**Pippa.**


	25. The Pandorica Opens Pt1

**A/N: I am so so sorry for being such a bad person and not updating in so long. I had uni work to get done as well as not being very well. But I will make it all up to you, honestly I will. **

**But anyway, I have kept you waiting long enough. **

* * *

The Doctor and I walked into the console room, both of us were smiling away. After the whole incident with the time engine, he had been sticking by my side more than ever. Neither of us had realised how much it was going to have a bad impact on me until it happened.

I noticed Amy in the silly swing chair under the console that the Doctor insisted he needed for repairs. She seemed to be in a word of her own. _"I take it you know where we are going today?"_ I asked the Doctor.

"_Of course I do. Somewhere brilliant."_ He replied, before hanging his head over the edge of the platform and shocking Amy. "Vavoom!" He shouted, making her jump a little.

"Va-what?" Amy asked, finally leaving her little world. She watched as the Doctor disappeared before running up the stairs to join the pair of us, running around the console.

"I can't believe I've never thought of this before. It's genius. Right." He pulled a lever and the TARDIS bumped a little. "Landed. Come on." He grabbed my hand and we started walking towards the door.

"Where are we?" Amy asked. There was something about the way Amy was acting that was telling me something was wrong.

"Planet One. The oldest planet in the universe." I told her, keeping a smile plastered across my face. I didn't want her to know that I was worrying about her, she would just tell me that she was fine, like she always did.

"And there's a cliff of pure diamond, and according to legend, on the cliff there's writing. Letters fifty feet high. A message from the dawn of time. And no one know what it says, because no one's ever translated it." The Doctor told her, getting very excited. I had actually mentioned it to him before, but he always had somewhere more exciting to go.

"Till today." I pointed out, trying to stop the Doctor from getting anymore excited by kissing him on the cheek. It seemed to work, a little.

"What happens today?" Amy asked us curiously.

"Us. The TARDIS can translate anything. All we have to do is open the doors and read the very first words in recorded history." I said, dragging the Doctor over to the door with me.

Amy was quickly behind us, a smile on her face as well. The moment I saw the writing my face dropped, as did the Doctor's. Amy let a little laugh slip out. "Vavoom." She said, as she read the writing.

I let out a sigh. "Hello Sweetie and Honey. I guess we know who wrote it as well." I mumbled, not feeling to great about having to see that person again.

The Doctor wrapped his arm around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. "No, you can't go and hide away in the library. We do this together." He whispered, knowing how I was feeling.

"Fine. Let's go." I said, making my way back into the TARDIS and starting to input the coordinates on the console. My good mood was quickly diminishing, and there was nothing that the Doctor could say to change it.

"You okay?" He asked me quietly as he stood beside me at the console. I glared at him, he should know how I was feeling without having to ask me. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't worry about it, I'm here." He slipped his arm around my waist and no matter how much I wanted to pull away from him I just couldn't do it.

It wasn't long until we had landed and were stepping out of the TARDIS again in what looked like a wood. "Right place?" Amy asked, closing the door behind her.

"Just followed the coordinates on the cliff face. Earth, Britain. 1.02am, no pm…" The Doctor said, looking at his watch.

"I think you mean AD." I said, pointing to the camp of Romans at the bottom of the hill.

Amy looked on with wide eyes. "That's a Roman Legion."

"Yup, the Romans invaded Britain several times during this period." I told her, folding my arms across my chest.

"Oh, I know. My favourite topic at school. Invasion of the hot Italians." Amy said, a grin on her face. All I could do was smirk at her, that was our Amy. "Yeah, I did get marked down for the title."

We all stood there watching as one of the soldiers came running up to us and saluted. "Hail, Caesar!" The man said, causing the Doctor wave at him and say hello. "Welcome to Britain. We are honoured by your presence."

"Well, you're only human. Arise, Roman person." The Doctor said. I just rolled my eyes at him, I would do anything to get away from there right now.

"Why does he think you're Caesar?" Amy whispered to the Doctor. I just put a finger on the side of my face and then nodded at the man. There was a smear of lipstick on his face.

"Cleopatra will see you now." The soldier said, before leading us away.

"So, she's playing at being Cleo now, is she?" I mumbled. "This better be good."

I felt the Doctor snake his arm around my waist again. I kept pulling away from him before, but he knew how badly I did not want to be there. "I don't know what you're so worried about. She doesn't bite, you know." He told me, trying to calm me down.

I let out a heavy sigh. "Because, if you haven't remembered, she annoyed me last time I met her. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms. And even if this is before that for her, I still don't trust her." I told him, just as we approached the tent.

The three of us stepped inside. "Hello, sweetie. Hello, honey." River said, sitting down, drinking, and loving her time pretending to be Cleopatra.

"River. Hi." Amy said cheerfully.

I wasn't feeling as cheerful as she was, and I was about to let River know exactly how much when the Doctor beat me to it. "You graffitied the oldest cliff face in the universe." The Doctor said sternly.

"Neither if you would answer the phone." She countered, looking between the Doctor and me. She clapped her hands and we watched as her servants left. Once they were gone she held out a rolled up piece of large paper.

"What's this?" The Doctor asked her, not looking very impressed so far.

"It's a painting. Your friend Vincent." My body froze at hearing Vincent's name, and the Doctor snatched it out of River's hands. "One of his final works." The Doctor started unrolling the painting. "He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one."

I looked over the Doctor's shoulder and at the painting. In the centre of the canvas was the TARDIS, exploding. "Oh, Vince. I'm so sorry." I whispered. It made more sense now, now I understood why his life ended how it did.

"Doctor? Summer? What is this?" Amy asked, looking at the painting. "Why is it exploding?"

"I assume it's some kind of warning." River told her, not noticing the distant look on either the Doctor's face or mine.

"What, something's going to happen to the TARDIS?" Amy asked in shock.

"_I don't like this, I really, really don't like this."_ I told the Doctor, leaning against him some more.

"_I know, neither do I. This is what must have driven Vincent to the end."_ I could tell that he was just as upset as I was. Neither of us wanted anything to have happened to Vincent, but it would seem that our meeting him led to that painting. He knew us, so it upset him.

"It might not be that literal. Anyway, this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?" River pointed to that part of the painting before finally looking at me. "Star, are you alright?"

"Summer, my name is Summer." I told her sharply. There was only certain people allowed to call me Star, and she was not one of them. "Does it have a title?"

She looked at me in shock. "The Pandorica Opens." She said meekly.

"The Pandorica? What is it?" Amy wondered.

"A box, a cage, a prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe." River's words made me tense up again. Of all the arguments the Doctor and I have had, the fact that I was the biggest threat to any universe had been one of them.

"And it's a fairy tale, a legend. It can't be real." The Doctor said, pulling me close to him and kissing the top of my head, trying to calm me and reassure me that everything was fine.

"If it is real, it's here and it's opening, and it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding." River told him as he grabbed scrolls of maps. "Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map."

"No, but if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it." I said, my voice shaking a little.

"Star, are you okay?" River asked in concern again.

"I told you, my name is Summer." I spat at her, before turning to face the Doctor. "I can't do this, Doctor. I just…"

He instantly put his arms around me, holding me as tight as he could. "You can. You can do this. I know you can." I tried my best to stop shaking. _"You are not the most feared thing in the universe."_

"_We both know that isn't true, Theta. We both know what I'm capable of doing."_

"Hey, you okay, Summer?" Amy asked me softly, gently placing her hand on my back. I tried my best to nod at her, but she was like a sister to me, she knew better. "Liar."

I shifted around in the Doctor's hold to face her. "Amy, remember what I told you, after… the door thing?" Amy nodded at me. "Just keep in mind, that was nothing compared to what I can do." I whispered to her, not wanting River to hear too much. I couldn't explain why I didn't like her, there was just something about her I found hard to trust.

But that wasn't just me, the Doctor felt the same way as well. She knew too much about both of us, especially the Doctor, she knew his name. His real name, the only other person he ever told that to was me.

"Horses, we need horses." The Doctor said, dragging me outside with him.

"You know where we're going then?" Amy asked as she rushed out after us. The Doctor nodded at her, we had both searched the maps, and so we both knew where to look.

"Now we just have to wait for Queen Cleo to change so that we can go." I mumbled. I knew that I should probably be making more of an effort to get along with River, I was just finding it hard.

A while later, she was ready and we were on our way. It wasn't the most pleasant trip on a horse I've had, it was chilly and a little windy. I was glad when we had finally reached out destination, Stonehenge.

"How come it's not new?" Amy asked as we looked around.

"Because it's already old. It's been here for thousands of years. No one knows exactly how long." I told her, watching as the Doctor and River scanned the stones around us.

"Okay, this Pandorica thing. Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium." Amy said, walking over towards River.

"Spoilers." River said, putting a finger to her lips whilst looking at the scanner in her hand.

"No, but you told the Doctor and Summer you'd see them again when the Pandorica opens." Amy protested as I went and stood by the Doctor. He knew how uncomfortable I was feeling, having to deal with River was bad enough, but the whole Pandorica thing was making me even more uneasy.

"Maybe I did, but I haven't yet. But I will have. Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles everywhere. Energy weapons discharged on this site." River called.

"If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history." The Doctor said before looking at me. _"And that is not you."_ He assured me. "Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it." He jumped off the rock he was standing on and put his ear against it. "We need to get down there."

"I take it you have a plan? Or is it a thing?" I asked him, ignoring the look that River was giving me.

"I have a thing. And before you say anything, it's a great thing." He insisted, before wrapping his arms around me and kissing my hair. "Now, go and talk with River. I can see she wants to talk to you."

I frowned at him. "Are you serious?" He nodded at me. "Well, if I get angry, don't blame me." I said, letting out a sigh and dragging myself over to where River was standing. "The Doctor seems to have it into his head that you want to talk to me." I mumbled, folding my arms in front of me.

"Summer, please talk to me. If I have done something wrong, then please, let me know so I can make it right." River pleaded.

"You want the truth, Doctor Song?" I asked her, and she nodded in response. "It's simple enough, I don't trust you. I don't have a clue who you are or how you know the Doctor or me. I think that is a good reason for me to be a little weary of you."

"I understand that, really I do. Is there anything I can do to make you trust me?" I just looked at her and shrugged my shoulders. "Summer, I know there are certain things that you still haven't told the Doctor, and I know you don't like to think about them." To say that she had my attention now was an understatement. I made sure to put up some barriers so that the Doctor wasn't going to hear what se had to say. He was too busy trying to find a way to get to the Pandorica.

"If you have something to say, then just get on with it." I told her, I didn't want her to know that I was curious as to what she knew.

"One day, you confide in me. You tell me something and it breaks my heart. Something that you haven't told the Doctor." Something about the look on her face told me that it was serious.

"What did I tell you, River?" I asked her, my voice shaking a little.

"I'm sorry, believe me, I really am sorry." She said, before leaning closer and whispering something in my ear. I felt River's arms around me as I broke down in tears. "Oh, Star, I'm sorry. I know, I'm sorry."

I continued to sob against the woman as she held me. If I had told her something before telling the Doctor, then it must mean that in the future I trust her, and that we are close. What she told me was something I never planned on telling the Doctor. Ever.

I felt someone pull me out of River's arms. "What did you say to her?" I heard the Doctor yell. "River, what did you do?"

I took a deep breath, trying to control my crying. "Doctor, it's okay, it's fine." I mumbled into his jacket.

"No, Star, it's not. What the hell did you say to her, River?" He spat. I could feel him starting to get angry.

I let out a sigh. _"Theta, it's fine. Please, she told me something, like she told you."_

He pushed me away from him a little and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. _"What did she tell you?"_

"_I can't tell you yet. As River would say, spoilers."_ I heard him let out a sigh of his own before pulling me closer to him again. "I trust you, River." I said, letting myself relax in the hold of my bond.

"Star, I really am sorry. I know how much it hurts, I wish there had been something else I could have done." It was easy to tell from her tone that she meant every word she said.

"Don't worry about it." I closed my eyes tightly and forced back the rest of my tears. "Come on, we have a Pandorica to find." The Doctor looked down at me, and I could see the worry and concern in his eyes. "Doctor, I'm fine, stop worrying. Everything is fine."

"I always worry about you. You're my Summer Star, I'm allowed to worry." I rolled my eyes at him and whacked him lightly on the chest. We really did have bigger things to worry about now.

It took quite some time to get everything set up, but we were eventually ready. The Doctor had not stopped asking me if I was okay, he just couldn't accept my answer when I told him I was fine.

"Right then. Ready." River announced before typing on her handheld. We could all hear what sounded like cogs turning and creaking and slowly the stone that the Doctor had stood on earlier and placed his ear against started to slide to the side.

"The Underhenge." The Doctor said, making sure to keep me close to him, as a set of stone steps were revealed.

"Let's see what all the fuss is about then." I mumbled, pushing the Doctor forward so that he was first down the stairs. River pulled out her torch as the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to help light the way a little.

At the bottom of the stairs we came to a large set of doors. I took the sonic out of the Doctor hand and used it to light a wooden torch. He carefully took it out of the holder and used it to light the one River had picked up from the other side. I watched as the smirked at each other before throwing the wooden bar that was holding the doors closed to the ground before slowly opening them.

"It's the Pandorica." The Doctor stated as was looked upon the large box in the room in front of us.

"More than just a fairy tale." River stated. Straight away the Doctor snaked his free arm around my waist.

"You okay?" He whispered, as we both slowly walked forward.

"Yup, absolutely peachy." I said before looking down at something the Doctor kicked. "Oh, that looks promising." I mumbled, noticing the metal arm on the ground before walking forward again with the Doctor.

"There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaking in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world." The Doctor said, inspecting the huge box.

"How did it end up there?" Amy asked, feeling the tension in the air. Everything the Doctor had said had just made me feel even worse.

"You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it. Or an enchantress." He said, a small grin on his face.

"I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be him." River pointed out, passing her torch to Amy as she got her scanner out to check out the box herself. "I don't mind the enchantress so much." She said, looking over at me and smiling.

I smiled back at her. "I can't stand her. Why would anyone in their right mind think that I was an enchantress?"

"So, it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name." Amy noted, looking around the room for herself.

The Doctor put his torch in the holder to the side of the room. "Sorry, what?" He asked, not really paying much attention to what Amy was saying. For some reason, I had a really bad feeling about what Amy was going to say next.

"The story, Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it. That was my favourite book when I was a kid." Amy told us, causing the Doctor to stop scanning the box and walk over to her. I was quickly behind him, knowing what he was thinking. "What's wrong?"

"Your favourite school topic. Your favourite story. Never ignore a coincidence." The Doctor told her. "Unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence." He said, returning back to the box.

"So, can either of you open it?" River asked. I knew exactly what she meant by asking me if I could open it.

"Easily. Anyone can break into a prison. But we'd rather know what we're going to find first." I told her, taking a much closer look at the box myself.

"You won't have long to wait. It's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside." River told us, looking at her handheld.

"How long do we have?" The Doctor asked her, not paying much attention to the fact that I was keeping my hands pressed on the box.

"Hours at the most."

"What kind of security?" He asked her, starting to sound slightly more worried.

"Everything. Deadlocks, time stops, matter lines. The whole lot." I whispered. I could feel everything opening, as if the box knew that I was there.

"What could need all that?" The Doctor wondered out loud. _"Don't you dare say it."_ He warned me, knowing what I was thinking.

"What could get past all that?" River corrected him.

"Think of the fear that went in to making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?" The Doctor asked, studying the box carefully. "Hello, you. Have we met?"

"So why would it start to open now?" River asked, poking her head around the corner.

"No idea."

Amy cleared her throat. She had been listening to everything that had been going on. "And how would Vincent have known about it? He won't even be born for centuries."

I turned and looked at her. "The stones." I told her, taking the Doctor's screwdriver from him and scanning them. "These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening."

"Star, everyone everywhere?" River asked. I turned to face her, hearing the panic in her voice.

"Even poor Vincent heard it, in his dreams. But what's in there? What could justify all this?" The Doctor rambled, not paying any attention to either River or me.

"Doctor, everyone?" River asked him firmly.

"Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?" He said, still trying to figure out the box.

"Doctor, I said everyone could hear it. So stop and think, who else is coming?" I asked him softly, knowing that raising my voice was not going to get his attention.

Suddenly it dawned on him. "Okay. If it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal." River announced, placing her scanner against a stone pillar.

"Doing it." I called, using the Doctor's screwdriver on the stones that were transmitting.

Amy was still standing there, not knowing what was going on. "Doing what?"

"Stonehenge is transmitting, Amy. It's been transmitting for a while, so who heard?" I told her as I tossed the screwdriver back to the Doctor. "Okay, should be feeding back to you now." I said as I rushed over to join River.

"River, what's out there? You getting anything?" The Doctor demanded to know.

"Give me a moment." She replied, looking at the scanner in her hand still.

"River, quickly. Anything?" He snapped.

I looked at the scanner and bit my lip. "Around this planet, there are at least ten thousand starships."

"Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million. I don't know. There's too many readings." River added. I could see that she was starting to panic now. Ten thousand was enough, but the scanner couldn't handle the amount that was out there.

"What kind of starships?" The Doctor asked, trying his best to stay calm.

That's when we heard it, a voice coming through River's scanner. I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath as I recognised the sound of the Daleks.

"Daleks. Those are Daleks." Even Amy was afraid, although she was trying to keep her voice strong.

I looked over at the Doctor and saw the look of horror on his face. He seemed to be in a world of his own, so I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. He looked down at me and came back to his senses.

He kissed the top of my head before wandering around. "Yes. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Dalek fleet, minimum twelve thousand battleships, armed to the teeth. Ah! But we've got surprise on our side. They'll never expect four people to attack twelve thousand Dalek battleships. Because we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise. Forget surprise."

"Doctor, stop talking." I tried to make my voice firm, but I was shaking unbelievably. I tensed up when I heard another voice coming through the scanner. "No, no, no." I whispered, my eyes growing wide.

"Doctor, Star, Cyberships." River said, looking at her scanner again.

"No, Dalek ships. Listen to them. Those are Dalek ships." The Doctor was getting frustrated now, he hadn't heard what both River and I had.

"Yes. Dalek ships and Cyberships. Just listen." I told him, forcing him to stop pacing and tossing his screwdriver between his hands.

"Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. I mean, that's easy. It's the Daleks. They're so cross." The Doctor announced. I felt my chest tighten, ever since we had gotten River's message, I had a bad feeling.

"Sontaran. Four battle fleets." River announced, moving her scanner to another pillar.

"Sontarans!" I exclaimed. "Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?" I spun around and glared at the Doctor.

"Terileptil, Slitheen, Chelonian, Nesteen, Drahin, Sycorax, Haemogoth, Zygon, Atraxi, Draconian. They're all here for the Pandorica." River told us.

"Yeah, you can stop talking now as well, River." I said, glaring at the woman. She just nodded at me, understanding that things were serious and we all knew it.

"What are you? What could you possibly be?" The Doctor asked, glaring at the huge box.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the whole places started shaking and the sound of ships hovering around in the sky became louder. The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me with him as he ran back up the stairs and outside.

"What do we do?" Amy asked, as she and River caught up to us.

"Doctor, listen to me. Everything that ever hated you and Star is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this one, just this one time, please, you have to run. You have to keep Star safe." Both of us looked at her. "You need to get her away from her, now."

"Run where?" The Doctor asked her, tightening his grip on my hand.

"Fight how?" She countered. There was something about the look in her eyes that made me realise how much she actually cared about the Doctor and I, and it made me feel guilty for the way I had treated her before.

"The greatest military machine in the history of the universe." The Doctor announced. He had a plan, of course he did. He was the Doctor, he always had a plan, eventually.

Amy just looked confused, as did River, but it was her who spoke up first. "What is? The Daleks?"

"Nope. The Romans." I said, forcing a smile on my face. "River, I have no doubt that you can sort that out."

River looked at me, before stepping towards me and placing a hand on my arm. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked me softly.

"Of course I am, I'm made of tougher stuff. You go get us some men." River nodded at me and dashed back to the horses, on her way back to the Roman camp. "Right, back to work, you two." I called, before rushing back inside to the Pandorica.

* * *

**A/N: I wonder what River told her? Okay, I don't wonder, I know what she told her. But it look's like the pair of them are going to get along now. Or are they? **

**Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I am writing more chapters right now. It will be worth all the stress, honestly. **

**Pippa.**


	26. The Pandorica Opens Pt2

**A/N: You've all waited long enough. Sorry for late updates, life gets in the way sometimes. Thank you all for sticking with me and reviewing. **

* * *

Once I was down there, I stood in front of the box. Whatever was in there, was coming out, and whatever was coming out, everyone wanted. I felt a pair of arms slip around my waist from behind me, and a chin rested on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back a little, letting out a sigh as I did so.

"Are you really okay?" The Doctor whispered to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, you know how it is." I assured him, but of course, he knew me better than that.

"Star, what did River say to you? I know that it upset you, can you please tell me what it was." He asked me gently. I knew that I couldn't tell him, it would just make a bad situation even worse.

"It's nothing, honestly. Just something that happened a long time ago that I told her about in the future." I could tell in an instant that he didn't believe me. I let out a sigh and twisted myself around in his hold so that I could face him. "I promise you, it's nothing to worry about, okay?"

I searched his eye, hoping that he would just drop the matter and focus on the bigger problem we had. Luckily, Amy decided to draw his attention instead. "So, what's this got to do with the TARDIS?" She asked.

"Nothing, as far as we know." I told her, sticking with the Doctor and keeping an eye on the box.

"But Vincent's painting. The TARDIS was exploding. Is that going to happen?" Amy asked. I was starting to get a little irritated now.

"One problem at a time." I told her.

"There's force field technology inside this box. If I can enhance the signal, I could extend it all over Stonehenge. Could buy is half an hour." The Doctor said, getting his screwdriver and the scanner out, before getting to work.

"What good is half an hour?" Amy wondered, a hand on her hip as she stood there watching.

"There are fruit, live on Hoppledom Six that live for twenty minutes and they don't even mate for life." The Doctor told her, still keeping his focus and attention on the box.

"There was going to be a point to that. He'll get back to you." I told her, knowing that he really had no clue as to what he was saying. He was getting too distracted.

"So, are you proposing to Summer?" Amy pulled out a little red box with an engagement ring in.

"I'm sorry?" The Doctor and I both said in unison. Shocked was not the word I would have used.

"I found this in your pocket." She said, approaching the Doctor with the ring on full show.

I closed my eyes, stopping the tears from building in my eyes as much as I could. She had found her own ring, and she had no idea. "No. No, no, that's er… a memory. A friend of ours. Someone we lost. Do you mind?" The Doctor said, holding his hand out to take it back.

But Amy pulled it away from him and kept looking at it. "It's weird. I feel… I don't know… something."

I could see from the way she was looking at the piece of metal, that she knew there was a connection. "People fall out of the world sometimes, but they always leave traces. Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half eaten meals, rings. Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely. And if something can be remembered, it can come back." I told her, stepping away from the Doctor's arm that was around me and putting my arm around Amy.

After a moment she snapped out of it. "So, was she nice, your friend?" She asked, giving the ring back to the Doctor. I didn't know what to say, the Amy that I knew was there, somewhere, but hidden under all the grief of losing Rory.

"Remember that night you flew away with me?" The Doctor asked her. I wondered where he was leading with all this. I hadn't been there, but I had seen it all in the Doctor's memories.

"Of course I do." Amy answered, clearing her throat a little. I could see that something was wrong, something was bothering her.

"And you asked me why I was taking you and I told you there wasn't a reason. I was lying." The Doctor told her. Now I knew exactly what was going on.

"What, so you did have a reason?" She looked between me and the Doctor, he was keeping an arm tightly around my waist, which I really didn't mind as every moment we were down there, I started to feel more and more anxious.

"Your house." He told her, completely confusing my red haired friend.

"It was too big." I told her. "Too many rooms. Does it ever bother you, Amy, that you life doesn't make sense?" Amy was about to reply when we were suddenly attacked by something.

"What was that?" Amy asked in a panic, trying to get away from the lasers that were being shot at us.

"I have a pretty good idea, but I hope I'm wrong." I said, letting the Doctor see the worry on my face.

"Okay, I need a proper look. Got to draw its fire, give it a target." The Doctor said from out hiding stop behind the Pandorica.

"Oh, please don't do that." I moaned, knowing exactly what he was planning on doing. "One day, you're going to get yourself killed by doing that."

"Summer, what's he going to do?" Amy asked, still panicking.

"You know how sometimes I have really brilliant ideas?" The Doctor said, before I had a chance to say anything. Amy nodded at him. "Sorry." He kissed the top of my head and then ran out from behind the box. "Look at me, I'm a target!" He shouted before hiding behind one of the stone pillars.

"What is that?" Amy asked, edging along the box to look around and speak to the Doctor.

"Cyberarm." I told her, earning me a confused look. "Arm of a Cyberman."

Amy just looked even more confused now. "And what's a Cyberman?"

"Oh, sort of part man, part robot. The organic part must have died out years ago. Now the robot part is looking for, well, fresh meat." The Doctor told her. That just horrified Amy even more. "It's just like being an organ donor, except you're alive and sort of screaming. I need to get round behind it. Could one of you draw its fire?" The Doctor asked before edging around the pillar.

"What, like you did?" I spat at him.

"You'll be fine if you're quick. It's only got one arm, literally." He told us.

I looked at Amy. "So, how do you want to do this?" I asked her. She gripped my hand tightly, it looked like we were going to do it together. "Okay, on three. One… three!" I shouted pulled her away from the box with me.

The arm started shooting at us and Amy and I both ran past it. Amy was screaming her head of as well, which really didn't help. We managed to get behind a pillar just as the Doctor grabbed hold of the arm. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it against the arm.

"What's he doing?" Amy asked me from where we were still hiding.

"Scrambling the circuits, but you need to stay where you are, it could be bluffing." I told her, slowly making my way over to the Doctor.

"Bluffing? It's an arm." Amy protested, beginning to follow me.

"Amy!" I shouted. "I said stay where you are." I gave her a fierce glare and she slowly walked backwards to where she had been standing before. I didn't like shouting or getting angry with her, but there was so much worrying me that I didn't have time to think about being polite anymore.

"Doctor! Summer!" Amy cried. We both turned around to see her being dragged down to the floor.

"Amy!" The Doctor cried, before being electrocuted by the arm he was holding.

"Oh great, the arm is still alive, and I'm betting so is the rest of the body." I mumbled, checking that the Doctor was at least still breathing. "You're going to have a headache when you wake up." I whispered to him, kissing him on the head before heading to where Amy was calling and screaming.

"You will be assimilated." I heard a rasping voice call.

"Yeah? You and whose body?" Amy said. I looked around at her and heard the body of the Cyberman enter the chamber.

I jumped out from where I was and grabbed Amy by the arm. "Come on, move." I said to her, as she stared at the metal body putting its head back on. I noticed that she was a little unsteady on her feet. "Amy, what happened?" She held out her hand and I saw a metal dart in her palm.

The Cyberman kept approaching us, and Amy decided to try and fight it off with a torch. I noticed the doors behind us and quickly dragged Amy through them. "Shush." I told her, putting a finger against my lip.

All we could hear was some banging from out side. "Everything's fine, Amy. Just a little problem with a Cyberman. And that fact that the Doctor is out cold and you've been drugged." I told her. Then everything went quiet and Amy inched closer to the door. A sword pierced through the door, just near to where Amy was pressed against it.

As the door swung open, the could see the sword was also wedged through the body of the Cyberman. "Who… who are you?" Amy asked, getting even more unsteady on her feet.

We both watched as the centurion removed his helmet. "Hello, Amy." I didn't know what to say, but at least I didn't do what Amy did, she fainted. Lucky for her, the centurion caught her and found somewhere to lay her down.

I looked at the man and smiled at him before throwing my arms around him and hugging him tightly. "Blimey, Rory. You really know how to make an entrance don't you?" I told him, so happy to see him and that he was alive.

"Summer, I have a lot of questions that I want to ask you and the Doctor." He said when I finally let him go.

"I'm sure you do. I have a few of my own actually. So far seeing you is the only good thing to come out of this mess." I told him, sitting down on a large stone.

"Sir, the man's coming round." One of the soldiers called, coming into view.

"Summer? Amy? Where are they?" The Doctor called, finally making it to where we are.

"I'm right here, hello." I said, waving to him. He didn't wave back he just threw his arms around me and started squeezing all of the air out of me. "You can let go now, I can't breathe." I warned him.

"Sorry. You okay?" I nodded at him. "Amy?"

"She's fine, Doctor. Just unconscious." Rory told him, not taking his eyes off her.

The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and started to scan Amy with it. "Okay. Yes, she's sedated, that's all. Half an hour, she'll be fine. Okay, Romans. Good I was just wishing for Romans. Good old River. How many?" The Doctor asked, not really paying any attention to who he was talking to.

"Fifty men up top, volunteers. What about that thing?" Rory asked, pointing to the Cyberman stuck to the door.

"Fifty? You're not exactly a legion." The Doctor commented, not paying any attention still.

"Your friend was very persuasive, but it's a tough sell." Rory told him, giving me a funny look.

"I know, give him a few more minutes." I whispered to the Roman.

"Yes, I know that, Rory." I grinned when the Doctor said the man's name. "I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious." I had to stop myself from laughing at that point. "But we need everything we can get. Okay, Cyberweapons. This is basically a sentry box, so headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt." The Doctor said, pulling out a few guns that were owned by the Cyberman.

"Doctor?" Rory called.

"Hush, Rory, thinking. Why leave a Cyberman on guard, unless it's a Cyberthing in the box. But why would they lock up one of their own?" I glanced at Rory again, shaking my head and trying to hard not to burst out laughing. "Okay, no, not a Cyberthing, but what? What? No, I'm missing something obvious, Rory. Something big. Something right slap in front of me. I can feel it." The Doctor rambled, standing in front of Rory, their noses only inches apart.

"Yeah, I think you probably are." Rory retorted, clearly not happy with the way the Doctor was missing the fact that he was there in front of him.

"I'll get it in a minute." The Doctor said, before taking the weapons and walking away and out of sight.

"And in three… two… one…" I said, just as the Doctor dropped the weapons came back into the room.

He poked Rory on the chest, making him rock back on his heels. I was still refraining from busting out in laughter. "Hello again." The Doctor finally said.

"Hello."

"How've you been?" the Doctor wondered. It seemed a little awkward between the two men.

"Good. Yeah. Good. I mean, Roman." Rory answered.

"Rory, I'm not trying to be rude, but you died." The Doctor pointed out.

"Oh yes, point out the obvious why don't you." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I was there." Rory said, giving me the slightest hint of a smile in the awkward situation.

"You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all. You never existed." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him again. He really was giving Rory a nice welcome back.

"Erased? What does that mean?" Rory asked, completely shocked and confused.

The Doctor just kept looking at him in shock. "How can you be here?"

"I don't know. It's kind of fuzzy."

I frowned at Rory. "Fuzzy?"

"Well, I died and turned into a Roman. It's very distracting." He answered, before turning his attention back to Amy who was still unconscious. "Did she miss me?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond the ground started shaking and the sounds of spaceships overhead became loud and clear. The Doctor and I ran back into the main chamber where the Pandorica was, on to see that there was a green glow coming from it and the sound of cogs could be heard.

"What is it? What's happening?" Rory asked after following us.

I watched as the Doctor scanned the box with his screwdriver, but I didn't need that to know what was happening. "The final phase." I said, tensing up. "It's opening." I didn't moved from where I was standing as the Doctor stepped up to the box and placed his hand against it.

When I came back to my senses I noticed the Doctor lying on the floor, still scanning the box but also talking to someone on a communicator. "Yes. Now hurry up and get the TARDIS here. I need equipment." He said before getting off the floor and ending the conversation. "What are you? They're all here, all of them, all for you. What could you possibly be?"

"Doctor…" I whispered, not being able to find the courage to move. "I'm… I'm scared." I said, letting a few tears escape and fall down my cheeks. It wasn't like me to admit when I was afraid of something, because there wasn't much I was afraid of. But now, I was flooded with fear.

He dropped what he was doing and instantly wrapped his arms around me. "Star, I will not let anything happen to you. I promise. Whatever happens, you will be safe. Do you understand me?" I tried to nod at him, but I couldn't. Of course I trusted him, but I had been let down too many times before.

"We… we better go and deal with that lot outside." I said quietly. I didn't want to go out there, but I didn't want to stay there with the Pandorica either.

The Doctor kissed me quickly on the lips and pulled me up the stairs with him. "Sorry, sorry, dropped it." He called, after dropping the communicator and everyone hearing the feedback. "Hello, Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news, everyone." He said, before letting go of my hand and jumping onto one of the stones. "Because guess who? Ha!"

I felt a small smile tug at the corner of my lips. He was going to give one of his speeches, I just knew he was. "Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about. It's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute because I AM TALKING!" He shouted. Immediately everything went silent and the ships above stopped moving. "The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer, I do. Next question. Who's coming to take it from me? Come on! Look at me. No plan, no back up, no weapons worth a damn." His eyes quickly caught mine for the briefest of seconds. He wasn't suggesting that I was worthless, he was suggesting that I wasn't a weapon.

"Oh, and something else. I don't have anything to lose. So, if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you, and then, and then, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first."

We watched the sky as the spaceships all retreated. His speech had even given me chills, and it wasn't directed at me. "Well, that should keep the squabbling for half an hour, don't you think?" I said to the Doctor as he jumped back down again.

He just smiled at me and nodded. "Romans." He said, looking at the men around him. He was still impressed that they were on our side.

We were just about to head inside when I suddenly because really dizzy. "Star, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked me in concern.

"I… I don't know." I told him, hanging onto his arm. My legs felt like jelly and my vision was blurring. "Remember the time loop?" The Doctor nodded at me. "Well it's not where near as bad at that." Yet, I mentally added. "I'll be fine, come on." I didn't give him time to argue as I started pushing him back to that stupid box.

"They're still out there. What do we do now?" Rory asked as we stood by the Pandorica.

"If I can stop whatever's in this box getting out, then they'll go home." The Doctor told him.

"That's if there really is something getting out of it." I mumbled. I had been thinking it over, and just because it was opening, didn't mean something was coming out. Then something else hit me. _"Amy's coming."_ I warned the Doctor as I saw her out of the corner of my eye moving.

"Rory, I'm sorry. You're going to have to be very brave now." The Doctor told him as Amy walked past.

"Oh, my head." She moaned, rubbing it a little. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet still.

"Just your basic knock out drops." The Doctor told her, giving her the once over. "Get some fresh air, you'll be fine."

"Is it safe up there?"

The Doctor smiled at her. "Not remotely, but it's fresh."

"Fine." She mumbled before noticing Rory standing with us. "Oh, you're the guy, yeah? The one who did the swordy thing?" She asked, to which Rory confirmed. "Well, thanks for the swording. Nice swording." She said, before heading towards the steps.

"No problem. My men are up there. They'll look after you." Rory called up to her.

"Good. Love a Roman." Amy called back before disappearing out of sight.

"She doesn't remember me. How can she not remember me?" I could hear the hurt in his voice. The woman that he loved had no idea who he was, of course he was going to be hurting.

I let out a sigh. "Because you never existed." I felt my head spin a little again before clearing slight. I could see the concerned look on the Doctor's face, I gave him a small, reassuring smile before turning back to face Rory. "There are cracks. Cracks in time. There's going to be a huge explosion in the future, on one particular day. And every other moment in history is cracking around it." I told him.

"So how does that work? What kind of explosion? What exploded?" Rory asked.

The Doctor and I just looked at each other. We both knew exactly when it happened, Amy's time. In fact, the day of her wedding, the day after the Doctor whisked her away in his magical blue box.

"Doesn't matter. The cracks are everywhere now. Get too close to them and you can fall right out of the universe." The Doctor told him.

"Rory, what actually happened? I mean, from your point of view what physically happened?" I asked him. It was one of the questions I had wanted to ask him since first seeing him again.

"I was in the cave, with both of you and Amy. I was dying, and then I was just here, a Roman soldier. A proper Roman. Head full of Roman… stuff. A whole other life, just here like I'd woken up from a dream. I started to think it was a dream, the pair of you and Amy and Leadworth." Rory told us before walking around a little. "And then today, in the camp, the men were talking about the visitors. The girl with the red hair. I thought you'd come back for me. But she can't even remember me." He protested, letting his emotions seep through.

"Oh, shut up." The Doctor said, smiling at him.

"What?"

I reached into the Doctor's pocket and pulled out the red box with Amy's engagement ring in it. I smiled as I threw it at Rory. "Go get her, tiger."

He caught it and looked at us. "But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

We both shrugged. "Because you are. The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous, and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory." The Doctor told him, holding me tightly. "Nine hundred years, never seen one yet, but this would do me."

I let a little laugh escape. "Now get upstairs. She's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it." I told him. The Doctor and I both watched as he made his way outside to go and get his Amy.

I turned to face the Doctor. "So, never seen a miracle before then?" I said, smirking a little at him.

"Well, maybe once, but Rory didn't need to know that." He said, before kissing me lightly on the lips. "Right, back to work."

I grabbed the communicator while the Doctor worked away. "River, honey, where's the TARDIS? Someone is getting a bit stressed out here."

"_Don't raise your voice, don't look alarmed, just listen. They're not real. They can't be. They're all right here in the story book. Those actual Romans. The ones I sent you, the ones you're with right now. They're all in a book in Amy's house. A children's picture book._" River said, trying to stay calm herself.

"What are you even doing there?" The Doctor asked. He had been listening to through our bond. I decided that it would be the easiest way to keep him informed.

"_It doesn't matter. The TARDIS went wrong. Doctor, Star, how is this possible?_" River was starting to panic.

"Something's using her memories, Amy's memories." I said, thinking as hard as I could. "You said something had been there?"

"_Yes. There's burn marks on the grass outside. Landing patterns._"

"If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. But why?" The Doctor pondered. Both of us were trying to work it out, but neither of us were coming to any rational explanation.

"Oh no. Those Romans, they're not real, are they?" The Doctor just stared at me. "Then what about Rory?" I whispered to him, hoping that River wouldn't be able to hear.

"_Star, that Centurion…_" It looked like River had worked it out as well. "_It's a trap, it has to be. They used Amy to construct a scenario you'd believe, to get close to you._"

"Why? Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense." The Doctor was getting more and more frustrated.

That's when I heard it, and felt it. Something was seriously wrong with the TARDIS. "River? River, what's happening?" I cried, trying to ignore the pain.

"_I don't know. It's the engines. Doctor, Star, there's something wrong with the TARDIS, like something else is controlling it._" She shouted.

"You're flying it wrong."

"No she isn't." I snapped at him. "Where are you, River? What's the date reading?"

"_It's the 26__th__ of June, 2010._"

The Doctor and I looked at each other, both of us with wide eyes. "You need to get out of there now. Any other time zone. Just go." I begged her. I heard her tell me that she couldn't break free. "Shut down the TARDIS. Shut down everything." The pain was starting to overwhelm me.

"_Someone else is flying it. An external force. I've lost control._"

"But how? Why?" The Doctor asked her, taking the communicator from me and talking to River himself. That's when all the Roman's stopped moving and slumped over. "Listen to me, just land her anywhere. Emergency landing, now. There are cracks in time. We've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider. The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you just land her."

"_It's not safe._" River protested, but neither the Doctor nor I was listening to her, the Pandorica was opening.

"Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?" The Doctor asked, helping me to stand up and move away from the box.

"_Doctor? I'm down. I've landed._" I heard River call.

"Okay, just walk out of the doors. If there's no one inside, the TARDIS engines shut down automatically. Just get out of there. Run!" He shouted.

"Doctor… Amy." I whispered, noticing the Romans were really autons, meaning so was Rory.

"Plastic Romans. Duplicates, driven by the Nestene Consciousness, eh? Deep cover, but what for? What are you doing? What's in there, eh? What's coming out?" The Doctor asked the Romans as they grabbed hold of both of us, leading us away from the Pandorica.

"The Pandorica is ready." One of them announced.

"What, do you mean it's open?" The Doctor asked, glancing over at me in concern. I was starting to feel worse and worse. River was trapped in the TARDIS, and someone else was controlling it. I was completely useless.

Then we got an even bigger shock when some Daleks decided to teleport into the chamber. "YOU HAVE BEEN SCANNED, ASSESSED, UNDERSTOOD, DOCTOR." It said, rolling forward as more teleported in behind.

"Scanned? Scanned by what, a box?" The Doctor asked, trying not to sound afraid.

"YOUR LIMITS AND CAPACITIES HAVE BEEN EXTRAPOLATED." The Dalek said. Then Cybermen appeared, along with Judoon and Sontarans.

"The Pandorica is ready." One of the Sontarans declared.

"Ready for what?" The Doctor asked, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"READY FOR YOU." The Supreme Dalek screeched.

That's when they pulled me further away from the Doctor, and dragged him forwards towards the box. I watched as they sat him down in the chair and his arms were clamped down.

"Doctor!" I screamed, trying to break away from the Roan autons that had a tight grip on me. "_Theta!_" I screamed in his mind. I saw him give me a small, sad smile.

"You lot, working together. An alliance. How is that possible?" The Doctor asked, wanted to get some answers.

"THE CRACKS IN THE SKIN OF THE UNIVERSE." The Supreme Dalek called.

"All reality is threatened." The leader of the Sontarans continued.

Then the Cyberleader stepped forward. "All universes will be deleted."

"What? And you've come to me for help?" The Doctor asked, trying his best to ignore the fact that I had tears streaming down my face.

"No." The Sontaran yelled. "We will save the universe from you!"

"From me?" Even I was confused now. How could it be him who destroyed the universe?

"ALL PROJECTIONS CORRELATE. ALL EVIDENCE CONCURS. THE DOCTOR WILL DESTROY THE UNIVERSE." The Dalek screeched.

"No, no, no. You've got it wrong." The Doctor cried, struggling to get out of the chair he was strapped into.

"So you lot created the Pandorica, created a scenario that the Doctor just wouldn't be able to resist. Because you think that he is the cause of these cracks? That he is the reason for the explosion?" I was struggling to breath, let alone speak, but I managed it.

The Supreme Dalek turned to me. "THE CRACKS IN TIME ARE THE WORK OF THE DOCTOR. IT IS CONFIRMED."

"No, no, no, not me, the TARDIS. And I'm not in the TARDIS, am I?" The Doctor countered.

"ONLY THE DOCTOR CAN PILOT THE TARDIS." The Dalek decreed.

"Oh yeah? Think again." I spat.

"Who is this female?" The Sontaran asked, finally noticing me.

"This 'female' has a name. And you should be even more scared of my name then the Doctor's. Your plan has the biggest flaw in it ever. The Doctor is the Oncoming Storm, well guess what, Alliance, I'm Star." I couldn't help but grin as the whole room shifted away from me, and my captors let me go. "Oh, that's right, you better back off." I noticed a fair amount started to beam back out and to their ships.

"YOU WILL JOIN US." The Dalek said to me, carefully gliding forward.

"I most certainly will not. Do you know how many Daleks I have destroyed?" It didn't answer me. "No, neither do I. I gave up counting a long time ago." And that was when I felt my skin burning. Whatever was happening to the TARDIS was seriously making me weak, but with all this energy building up inside of me, I had a chance, I had once chance.

"Please, listen to me." The Doctor called, trying to get everyone's attention away from me.

"IF YOU WILL NOT JOIN US THEN YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED." The Supreme Dalek cried before firing its laser at me. It hit me full on the chest and I fell to the ground. "THE GREATEST WEAPON IN THE UNIVERSE HAS BEEN DESTROYED."

"Star!" I heard the Doctor cry. "What have you done! You've killed her!" I could hear him shouting, but I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even reach his mind.

"YOU WILL BE PREVENTED." The Dalek called.

"Total event collapse! Every sun will supernova as every moment in history. The whole universe will never have existed. Please listen to me." The Doctor cried.

"Seal the Pandorica."

"No! Please, listen to me! The TARDIS is exploding right now and I'm the only one who can stop it now! Listen to me!" I heard the Doctor cry before I heard the sound of the box closing.

I heard his voice one last time before everything went dark. "_I'm sorry, Star. I love you._"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all liked it. I can't believe this is the end of series 5. I am going to carry on with this story, and not start another one. So the Christmas special and the next series will all carry on here. **

**Again, I want to thank you all for sticking with me even though my updates have been all over the place. So leave me a review, tell me what you think. No one has managed to work out what River could have said to her yet, but you will find out… eventually. **

**Pippa.**


	27. The Big Bang Pt1

**A/N: So I've had some serious writers block, and a seriously damaged wrist which has made all it the harder to type. I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting. Here is the first part of The Big Bang!**

* * *

Everything was hurting. It felt like my whole body was burning as I lay there on the stone floor in front of that stupid Pandorica that the Doctor was locked in. I couldn't even open my eyes to see what was going on, all I knew was that it was silent.

That was until I heard footsteps heading down the steps to the Pandorica. "Oh my God, Summer." I heard Rory cry before rushing over to me. "Summer, can you hear me?" I wanted to call back and answer but my body just wouldn't let me. I heard him let out a sigh as he stood up.

I wanted to scream, for someone to realise that I wasn't dead, but I couldn't. I wondered what Rory was doing, until I heard the familiar sound of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. That buzzing sound was such a relief to hear, but I didn't understand how Rory managed to get hold if it in the first place.

"How did you do that?" A very familiar, but weary voice asked the Roman.

"You gave me this." Rory answered. From what I would tell, Rory had used the screwdriver to open the Pandorica. I just wanted to know how he got the screwdriver in the first place.

"No, I didn't." The Doctor protested. I heard something spark. "Temporal energy. Same screwdriver at different points in its own time stream. Which means it was me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future. That's nice." He rambled on.

There was a sound close to my head, like feet shuffling. "Star, I know you can hear me." The Doctor called to me softly.

"But, Doctor, I thought she was dead." Rory told him. "I mean, there's no heart beats and she isn't breathing."

"No, there wouldn't be." I could feel his hand against the side of my face.

"What happened to her?"

"She was shot by a Dalek. Not the first time it's happened to her. Now, Star, you need to let go now." The Doctor told him, holding onto one of my hands tightly.

"I don't understand. How can she not be dead?" It was clear that Rory was getting seriously confused with the situation.

"She's using her built up energy to repair her body. Her added way of cheating death I suppose. But she needs to let go and stop it right now, otherwise it's going to become too much and it will kill her." I could tell from his tone that the last part was aimed at me.

"_Just let it go, Star. I'm here, everything will be fine, just let go._" I focused my mind on him, the Doctor, the man in the bow tie and tweed jacket. His love for fish fingers and custard, and the last words I heard him say before the Pandorica was sealed.

"_I love you too._" I called out, hoping that he could hear me.

"Rory, stand back." The Doctor called, getting up from where he was.

"Doctor, what's happening?" He asked. Asking too many questions, so like a human.

"Trust me, we both need to get back. Right now." I heard their footsteps grow fainter. I knew what I had to do next.

I had been holding onto the energy for as long as I could, I was scared to let go. But now I knew the Doctor was safe, I realised that I had to do it, whether I wanted to or not. If I could breathe, I would have taken a deep breath. Instead I just thought about all the times I had spent with the Doctor. All the places that wee had been and everything that we had seen.

I should have known that it was going to hurt. I screamed out in pain, not really noticing that sound was actually coming from my mouth. Then everything stopped. The build up of energy had gone and the pain was subsiding.

"You can open your eyes now." The Doctor whispered to me, gently touching the side of my face again. I slowly forced my eyes open and was greeting to seeing the Doctor hanging over me. "Hello."

"Hi." I mumbled, still trying to get the world into focus. "You know, that wasn't as much fun as I remember it to be." I let out a groan as both the men helped me up. "Oh, what I wouldn't do for a nice hot bath right about now."

The Doctor chucked before holding onto me tightly. "Don't ever scare me like that again." He mumbled into my hair. "I didn't think you were going to make it, especially when Rory said there were no heart beats and you weren't breathing. I thought I had lost you for good." He had been so worried and now he was so upset.

"Doctor, you can't get rid of me that easily. It's going to take more than a Dalek to take me out." I told him, before noticing a Dalek, which looked more and more like a fossil. "Oh, that's not good." I said, pulling away from the Doctor and looking at it closer.

"Yeah, what are they?" Rory asked as he came for a look as well.

"History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after-images. Echoes. Fossils in time. The footprints of the never-were." I said, before turning to look at the Doctor. "And I'm starting to sound more and more like you every day."

Even the auton Romans were frozen like statues and covered in dust and dirt. "Er, what does that mean?" The only living auton Roman asked.

"Total event collapse. The universe literally never happened." The Doctor told him, looking around the room.

"So how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing." I told him sadly. "Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out." I took another look around the room and frowned. "Amy. Where's Amy?" I asked in a panic.

Rory looked ashamed of something before leading us up to where he was with Amy some time earlier. There was a body lying on the ground, covered up with a blanket.

"I killed her." Rory said, as the Doctor took a look at the lifeless Amy Pond.

"Oh, Rory." I said softly, knowing that Amy wasn't as dead as she seemed.

"Doctor, what am I?" Rory asked as I released his arm that I had been holding in comfort.

"You're a Nestene duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity." He replied, not even thinking about how Rory was feeling but just scanned the red haired woman on the ground with his screwdriver.

"But I'm Rory now. Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory." The Roman soldier insisted where he was standing.

"That's the software talking." The Doctor told him, and that was when I saw his thoughts and what he was planning.

"_I hate you some times."_ I mumbled to him. All he could do was look at me and give me a huge grin.

"Can you help her? Is there anything you can do?" Rory asked, sending all his attention to Amy again.

"Yeah, probably, if I had the time." The Doctor replied, standing back up and putting his screwdriver away.

"The time?" There was anger flaring form the Roman now, and I could understand why. All I needed to do was just stay back and keep out of it. The Doctor knew what he was doing, at least I hoped he did.

"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened? All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe." The Doctor said acting very arrogant and cocky.

And that was when Rory hit him around the face, knocking him to the floor. "She is to me." He shouted to the man, lying on the muddy ground.

"_I take it that hurt?"_ I sniggered to the Doctor. The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. "Welcome back, Rory Williams." I cried, hugging the soldier. He hugged me back, but seemed a little confused.

"Sorry. Had to be sure. Hell of a gun arm you're packing there." The Doctor said, getting up and rubbing his chin. "Right, we need to get her downstairs. And take that plastic look off your face. You're getting married in the morning."

I watched as Rory gently picked up his fiancée and carried her down the stone steps and back into the chamber where the Pandorica was sitting. The Doctor took her off him and sat her in the fearful box.

"So you've got a plan then?" Rory asked, watching what the Doctor was doing carefully.

"Bit of a plan, yeah." The Doctor replied, busy with making Amy safe.

"Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. She grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestene took a memory print of her and got a bit more than they bargained for, like you." I told Rory, giving him a slight nudge. "Not just your face, but your heart and soul."

Rory smiled at me a little. Amy was like my sister, Rory was like a brother, these people had become my family. "I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening." The Doctor told us as he went into Amy's mind.

He stepped away from the box and held out his sonic screwdriver, closing the box. As he did I moved myself next to him and slipped his free arm around me.

"Whoa, woah, woah, woah! What are you doing?" Rory demanded to know as the stood in front of the closed box.

"We're saving her. This box is the ultimate prison. You cant even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive." I told him.

"But she's already dead.

"Well, she's mostly dead." The Doctor informed him. "The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way. Now all it needs is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."

"Where's it going to get that?" It was clear that Rory was a bit confused. With Amy in the box, how could they get a living DNA sample?

The Doctor looked at the watch on his wrist. "In about two thousand years." He grabbed River's vortex manipulator and strapped it around his wrist.

"She's going to be in a box for two thousand years?" Rory asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's vortex manipulator. Rubbish way to time travel, but the universe is tiny now. We'll be fine." The Doctor told him still trying to do the strap up properly.

"Rubbish isn't the word I would use. Oh, this is going to make me so time sick, you know that don't you?" I told him sulkily. "I don't care how small the universe is now, it isn't going to sit very well with me."

"I know, I'm sorry. But we don't have any other way." The Doctor told me, kissing my temple. "You'll be fine." He promised me.

"So, hang on. The future is still there then? Our world?" Rory asked.

"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky." I told him as the Doctor took hold of my hand.

"Let's go and have a look." He said, beaming away. Only he could get excited about something like this. "You put your hand there." He told the Roman, putting my hand in place. "Don't worry. Should be safe." I let out a groan, which resulted in the Doctor nudging me a little.

Rory looked at the pair of us. "That' not what I'm worried about." He said before turning to the Pandorica.

"She'll be fine. Nothing can get into this box." The Doctor assured him, very badly.

Rory snorted a little. "Well, you got in there."

"Well, there's only one of me. I counted." I elbowed the Doctor, glaring at him and telling him to shut up.

"This box needs a guard. I killed the last one."

Panic took over the Doctor's face. "No. Rory, no. Don't even think about it." He told him.

"She'll be all alone." There was so much sadness in Rory's voice. I knew how much he cared for Amy, I knew he would do anything to protected her.

"She won't feel it." The Doctor protested. Rory just gave him a snide comment back. "Two thousand years, Rory. You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer is I stay? Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."

The Doctor didn't want to answer him. "Rory, you…"

"Answer me!" Rory yelled to the Doctor before turning to me. "Star, please, tell me the truth."

I nodded at him. "Of course she would be safer with you." He knew that I wouldn't lie to him, especially not about something like this.

"Then how could I leave her?" He asked me softly. I completely understood, and I was not going to try and stop him.

"Why do you have to be so human?" The Doctor asked him, making sure I stayed close to him.

Rory's face was full of sadness still. "Because right now, I'm not."

"Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but you're not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible." The Doctor told him, putting my hand back on the vortex manipulator. "Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along. You can't heal or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of…" There was a blinding light and everything around us changed.

I could feel my head spinning and pounding while my stomach turned in knots. I would always hate travelling through the time vortex by that way.

"Trouble." The Doctor said. "Oh, ah, two of you. Complicated." I heard him say. _"You okay?"_ He called to me.

"_No."_ I told him, clutching my aching head. _"Please, never make me travel like that ever again. It really hurts me."_

I felt him wrap his arms around me and kiss my forehead, taking away some of the pain. _"I know, I'm sorry."_

"EXTERMINATE. WEAPONS SYSTEMS RESTORING." A screeching voice called. My head instantly shot up and I looked around to see a Dalek.

"Come along, Ponds." The Doctor said, grabbing Amelia's hand while I grabbed Amy's.

I gave Amy a smile, glad to see that Rory had kept her safe and that she was alive and well. The only thing I wanted to know now, was where Rory was.

"What are we doing?" Amy asked as we stopped running and the Doctor grabbed a fez from a near by dummy.

"Well, we are running into a dead end, where I'll have a brilliant plan, that basically involves not being in one." The Doctor said in a hurry.

I turned to Amy and smiled. "Basically, he's making it up as he goes along." I told her with a grin. The Doctor just swatted my hair in slight annoyance.

"What's going on?" A man called, coming into the room with a torch.

"Get out of here. Go! Just run!" The Doctor called from where we were hiding.

"DROP THE DEVICE." The Dalek ordered.

"It's not a weapon. Scan it. It's not a weapon, and you don't have the power to waste." There was a slight hint of fear in the Doctor's voice for the unknown man.

"SCANS DETECT INTRUDER UNARMED." The Dalek finally decided.

The man dropped the torch to the floor. "Do you think?" He said, confidently.

That was when my thought was confirmed. The man's hand opened to reveal a gun, which was fired at the Dalek.

"VISION IMPARED. VISION IMPARED." The Dalek cried, backing away before powering down.

We all quickly ran into the room where the Dalek was now still. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and started to scan the Dalek.

"Amy!" Rory cried as he stopped her.

Amy stopped where she was. "Rory." She whispered, before running towards him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. It just happened." Rory told her emotionally as he held her tightly.

"Oh, shut up." Amy said, before grabbing her fiancée and kissing him.

"Yeah, shut up, because we've got to go. Come on." The Doctor said, going up to the pair. I just shook my head as I stood with Amelia, the poor child had no idea what was going on.

"I waited. Two thousand years I waited for you."

"No, still shut up." Amy said, before grabbing him again and kissing him more passionately than before.

"And break. And breath." The Doctor said, watching them. "Well, somebody didn't get out much for two thousand years."

I shook my head and walked over to him. "Feeling a little left out?" I asked, taking hold of his hand. "Two thousand years, I couldn't see you waiting that long for anything." I told him, before leaning up and kissing him a kiss, just to keep him happy.

He pulled away when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. "I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?" Amelia asked.

"Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?" The Doctor said, blushing a little.

I frowned, looking at the Dalek and the room the Pandorica was in. "The light. The light from the Pandorica, it must have hit the Dalek." That's when I noticed the Dalek's weapon start to twitch and move. "Out! Come on, out!" I shouted, taking Amelia by the hand and dragging her along with me.

We ran through the museum, I had only just realised where we actually were. It looked nothing like it should. They never had penguins in the deserts, and Dalek's weren't from Earth at all. The would that had been created was so wrong.

"So, two thousand year. How did you do?" The Doctor asked Rory and I helped him close a large, heavy set of doors.

"Kept out of trouble." Rory replied innocently.

"Oh, how?" The Doctor asked, rushing around and grabbing a mop, after putting the fez back on his head.

"Unsuccessfully." Rory said, moving to stand with Amy and Amelia. "The mop! That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."

"Ah. Well, no time to lose, then." He looked up at me. "You coming?"

I shook my head at him. "You know what, I'd rather be killed by a Dalek again than travel like that any time soon." I told him. He nodded at me, understanding why I didn't want to go.

He disappeared in a blinding flash of light, before reappearing a few moments later. "Oops, sorry." He said, putting the mop through the hands of the door to barricade it.

"How can he do that?" Amelia asked. "Is he magic?"

And then he was back again. "Right, let's go then." He said, starting to run up the staircase. "Wait! Now I don't have the sonic. I just gave it to Rory two thousand years ago." And he was gone.

I let out a sigh. "Amy, check your top pocket please." She did as I asked and pulled out the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. He flashed back in and went straight over to Amy, taking it from her hand.

"Off we go!" He called, walking over to us all. "No, hang on. How did you know to come here?" He asked Amelia. She pulled a leaflet out of her pocket and gave it to him. "Ah, Star's handwriting. Okay."

I took the leaflet off him, grabbing a new one on the way and pulled the red pen out of his pocket. One I had writing the on the leaflet and post-it note, I handed it to him and he disappeared.

"This is getting tiresome now." I moaned. Every time he used that stupid thing, it made me feel sick.

"There you go. Drink up." The Doctor said when he returned, pushing a drink into Ameila's hands.

"What is that? How are you doing that?" Amy asked him in awe.

"Vertex manipulator. Cheap and nasty time travel. Very bad for you. Extremely bad for me." I said glaring at the Doctor.

"I'm trying to give it up." He said, kissing my cheek lightly.

Amy just shook her head. "Where are we going?" It sounded like she was starting tog et bored as well now.

"The roof." He announced, grabbing hold of my hand and starting to drag me up the stairs with him. We stopped when there was a crack and a flash of light. The Doctor and I appeared at the top of the stairs. He fell down and the other version of me quickly fell behind him, landing almost on top of him.

The Doctor and I both rushed forwards. Clearly they were us, from the future. He scanned them both.

"Doctor, Summer, it's you. How can it be you?" Rory asked, looking at the bodies before us.

"Summer? Doctor? Is that you?" Amy asked nervously.

"Yeah, it's us. Us from the future." The Doctor said sadly. That's when the future Doctor suddenly sat upright a little, grabbing hold of the Doctor and whispering into his ear. I heard every word, both of them sending it to me as well. Then he fell back down again, lying completely still.

"Are you? I mean, are they… are they dead?" Amy asked.

"What? Dead?" The Doctor was in a world of his own as I kissed the top of the future Doctor's head. "Yes, yes. Of course they're dead." He said, before standing up straight and pulling me towards him. "Right, We've got twelve minutes. That's good." He said, holding me tightly.

"Twelve minutes to love? How is that good?" Amy snapped.

"Oh, you can do loads in twelve minutes." I told her, trying to be cheerful.

"Suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath. Come on, the roof." The Doctor said, taking me with him again.

"We can't leave you both here dead." Rory protested.

"Oh, good. Are you in charge now?" I snapped. I had twelve minutes to live, and he was wasting them for me. "Are you in charge now? So tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?" I asked him.

Amy looked around, as did Rory. "Where did she go?" Amy wondered while Rory called out for her.

"There is no Amelia. From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing." I said, letting out a sigh. All I wanted to do was get in the TARDIS and cuddle up in bed. I was getting emotionally drained as well as suffering the after effects of the vortex.

"But how can I still be here is she's not?" Amy asked curiously.

"You're an anomaly. We're all just hanging on at the eye of the storm. But the eye is closing, and if we don't do something fast, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on." The Doctor finally dragged me all the way up the stairs.

I realised no one was coming behind us. "Move it! Come on!" I shouted back down to Amy and Rory. I let out a sigh. "You know, I never actually meant what I said."

There was a small smile on the Doctor's face. "I know, be careful what you wish for." He told me, pressing his lips against my temple, trying to help me relax a little more.

"I wish for it to start raining chocolate?" I said, closing my eyes tightly. I heard the Doctor chuckling beside me. "I know, I'm being silly."

"No, you're stressed. You almost died earlier, and now you've seen yourself dead." He said, trying to comfort me.

We carried on in silence, Amy and Rory finally catching up with us. The Doctor helped me out when we finally made it to the roof.

"What, it's morning already? How did that happen?" Amy asked, looking around.

The Doctor let out a sigh. "History is shrinking. Isn't anybody listening to us? The universe is collapsing. We don't have much time left." He said before using his screwdriver on a satellite dish and ripping it from the pole it was on.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Looking for the TARDIS." I said, looking into the distance with tears in my eyes. _"You really don't need that to know where it is."_ I told the Doctor.

He looked over at me quickly. _"Are you sure?"_ I nodded at him.

"But the TARDIS is exploding." Rory noted.

I turned and looked at him for a moment. "Okay then, he's looking for an exploding TARDIS."

Amy came and stood by me. "I don't understand. So, the TARDIS blew up and took the universe with it. But why would it do that?"

I looked over at her and gave her a little smile. "Good question for another day."

"The question for now is, total event collapse means that every star in the universe never happened. Not one single one of them ever shone." I coughed a little behind him. "Except for you, of course." I nodded at him, a big grin on my face. "So, if all the stars that ever were are gone, then what is that?" He asked, pointing towards the big burning ball in the sky that looked very similar to the sun. "Like we said, we're looking for an exploding TARDIS."

"But that's the sun." Rory protested.

I turned to face him again. "Is it? Well, here's the noise that sun is making right now." I said, taking the screwdriver from the Doctor's hand and aiming it at the dish he was holding. That was when we all heard it, the rough grinding sound of the TARDIS, of my home and my friend.

"That's our TARDIS burning up. That's what's been keeping the Earth warm." The Doctor said, pulling me closer to him. He knew this was upsetting me. I was linked so closely to the TARDIS that I was only being saved by my own power and energy.

"Doctor, Summer, there's something else." Rory said, listening closely. "There's a voice."

"I can't hear anything." Amy told us. I closed my eyes and knew exactly who it was.

"Trust the plastic." Rory said, pointing to one of his ears.

"_I'm sorry my loves. I'm sorry my loves. I'm sorry my loves._" A voice came, projected from the dish.

"But, that's River. How can she be up there?" Amy wondered.

"It must be like a recording or something." Rory said, trying to make sense of it all.

"No, it's not. It's the emergency protocols. The TARDIS has sealed off the control room and put her in a time loop to save her. She is right at the heart of the explosion." I told them.

We kept on hearing River say the same thing over and over again. "_I'm sorry my loves._" And I couldn't stop a few tears from slipping down my cheek.

* * *

**A/N: Again I am so sorry for my horrible irregular updates. I'm working on the next chapter right now, so that's something at least. I've just been so busy and found it hard to focus on my writing. But here comes the new year, and I will get better.**

**Hope all you lovely people had a wonderful Christmas, or any other holiday that you celebrated. Enjoy the New Year!**

**Pippa.**


	28. The Big Bang Pt2

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, keep 'em coming.**

* * *

I sighed, knowing what was coming next. "We better go get her." I said, setting the vortex manipulator and sending us to the TARDIS. "Leave you alone for five minutes and you blow the place up." I called to River as she ran towards the door where I was standing with the Doctor.

"Hi, honey. We're home." He said as she stopped running just a few steps in front of us.

She looked down at her watch. "And what time do you call this?" She asked, looking between us, but giving me a smile.

"Does anyone mind if we get out of here? No? Good." I said, grabbing River's hand and slamming it down on the leather strap around the Doctor's wrist still.

"Amy!" River cried when we appeared back on the roof of the museum. "And the plastic Centurion?" She asked a little cautiously.

"It's okay, he's on our side." I mumbled, holding onto my head and trying so hard not to be sick.

"You okay?" The Doctor whispered to me, helping me to stand up properly. I just nodded at him a little in response.

"I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable heads. It did keep things fresh. Right then, I have questions, but number one is this." River said, turning to face the Doctor. "What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?"

"It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool?" He replied, adjusting it on his head. I glanced over at River and suddenly the fez was flying away from his head. River wasted no time in pulling out her gun and shooting the hat. "Oh." The Doctor moaned.

"EXTERMINATE." The Dalek cried as it began to rise in front of us over the side of the building.

"Oh great." I mumbled, being pulled by the Doctor as we hurried to get inside again.

"Run, run! Move, move. Go!" He shouted, making sure everyone went ahead of him as he blocked the Dalek with the satellite dish.

Once we were back in side the Doctor wasted no time in sonicing the hatch to the roof closed. "It's moving away, finding another way in." He said, listening closely against the closed hatch. "It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity."

"How do you know?" Rory asked.

"Because that's when it's due to kill us." I told them getting them to move along.

"Kill you?" River cried. "What do you mean, kill you?" She asked as they all followed us down the stairs.

"Oh, shut up. Never mind." I called back to her. I really wasn't in the mood to get into any arguments with anyone right now. We had bigger things to deal with.

"How can that Dalek even exist? It was erased from time and then it came back." The Doctor pondered as we walked back through the museum. "How?"

"You said the light from the Pandorica." Rory pointed out.

"It's not a light, it's a restoration field. But never mind, call it a light. That light brought Amy back, restored her, but how could it bring back a Dalek when Daleks have never existed?" He said, making no sense to anyone but me.

"When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse. A time explosion. And that explosion blasted every atom in every moment of the universe. Except…" I said, turning to Amy, knowing she would understand what I was saying.

"Except inside the Pandorica." She said proudly. I couldn't help but give her a wide smile.

"The perfect prison. And inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was." I finished.

"In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like, like cloning a body from a single cell." The Doctor continued.

"I wish I could have met Jenny." I mumbled, thinking back to how the Doctor had a daughter created from a single cell of his.

The Doctor just kissed the top of my head before carrying on speaking. "And we've got the bumper family pack."

"No, no. Too fast. I'm not getting it." Rory said.

I rolled my eyes at him. "The box contains a memory of the universe, and the light transmits the memory, and that's how we're going to do it." I told him.

"Do what?" Amy asked, now just as lost as her fiancée was.

"Relight the fire. Reboot the universe." The Doctor told them. "Come on." He grabbed hold of my hand and we started to move again.

"Star, Doctor, you're being completely ridiculous. The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life from properly, how's it reboot the whole of reality?" River asked us, making sure to keep close to us.

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power? What if we can transmit the light form the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?" I said, turning back to look at her.

"Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't, because it's completely impossible." She replied stubbornly.

"River, remember who you're talking to. It's almost completely impossible. One spark is all we need." I told her.

"For what?" She asked.

I turned to the Doctor and smiled. "Big Bang Two." We both said at the same time. "Now, listen…" The Doctor started before he grabbed hold of my arm and we both turned around. The Doctor was struck by the Dalek's laser, and I instantly felt his pain.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" The Dalek cried as it rolled forward.

I gripped hold of the Doctor, finding it harder and harder to breath. I felt like everything was closing in on me, like I was under such a heavy weight that I would be crushed at any moment. I thought I heard River calling our names.

"_You have to hold on, Star. Please, hold on, for me."_ The Doctor called in my head.

"_I can't. It hurts too much. I can't bear it."_ I could feel my skin burning, my energy was trying to protect me, but it wouldn't do any good. If the Doctor died, then so did I.

He hit the vortex manipulator and we both vanished, ending up on the stairs we were earlier, with our younger selves watching. I didn't hear or see anything, I knew what was going on, I remembered it from before, and I was glad I didn't have to go through it all again.

Then I felt someone press their lips against mine. The energy that he been building started to fade, along with the pain and the feeling that I was going to lose everything. When I opened my eyes, the Doctor was looming over me, looking at me with concern.

"You okay?" He whispered, helping me to sit up.

"Not really. Come on, we have work to do." I said, holding onto him tightly as I stumbled on my feet.

Neither of us was really okay, but we both knew what had to be done. There was only one way, and we knew that. "You don't have to do this." He told me as we stopped outside of the Pandorica.

"Yes, I do. You can't expect me to stay here on my own. I'm nothing without you, I wouldn't last a second without you with me." I told him, gripping onto him tightly.

"Once we do it, there is no turning back." He reminded me. I already knew that, but I didn't care.

"Come on, we haven't got time to stand around here chatting." I said, dragging him to the Pandorica and getting him to sit down in it. I sat between his legs on the floor and started pulling out wires.

I felt my head spinning and closed my eyes for a moment. "Hey, come on. You can't go to sleep, not yet." The Doctor told me, gently stroking the side of my face.

"Why not? You want to sleep just as much as I do." I mumbled to him.

"Star, we need to get this finished. Once we are done, you can sleep as much as you like. I promise."

I let out a little groan and forced my eyes open again and started pulling at the wires again. It wasn't exactly comfortable where I was sitting,

"Doctor!" I heard Amy cry, just as I started to close my eyes again.

"Why did he tell us they was dead? Rory asked.

"We were a diversion. As long as the Dalek was chasing us, they could work down here." Amy told him. I wanted to congratulate her on working it out, but I just didn't have the energy. The Doctor and I had almost done what we needed to do.

"Star, Doctor? Can you hear me? What were you doing?" River asked, standing by the open Pandorica and looking at the mess.

I managed to open my eyes and smile at her, just as the Doctor did.

"What's happening?" Rory asked as the room became brighter from the light outside.

"Reality's collapsing. It's speeding up. Look at this room." River said, looking at the now empty room.

"Where'd everything do?" Amy asked curiously.

"History's being erased. Time's running out. Star, Doctor, what were you doing? Tell us. Star! Doctor!" River shouted.

"Big. Bang. Two." The Doctor managed to mumbled, stroking my hair a little.

"The Big Bang. That's the beginning of the universe, right?" Rory commented.

"What, and Big Bang Two is the bang that brings us back? Is that what you mean?" Amy asked, walking closer to the box.

That was when River finally noticed what we had been doing. "Oh." She breathed, looking at the Doctor and then down at me. "Star…"

I shushed her, knowing what she was going to say. Luckily Amy made sure to move the topic of conversation on by asking River what she had realised. "The TARDIS is still burning. It's exploding at every point in history. If you threw the Pandorica into the explosion, right into the heart of the fire…"

"Then what?" Amy asked as River trailed off.

"Then let there by light. The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once, just like they said." River continued. I was glad she understood so much, and glad that we had finally made peace.

"That would work?" My red haired friend asked. "That would bring everything back?"

"A restoration field powered by an exploding TARDIS, happening at every moment in history. Oh, that's brilliant. It might even work. They've wired the vortex manipulator to the rest of the box." River said, looking down at me.

"It will work. I'm brilliant." I mumbled to her, struggling to find any strength at all.

Amy just looked at River, confusion and worry etched on her face. "Why?"

"So they can take it with them. They're going to fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion." River told the pair behind her.

"River, help me." I whispered, noticing the Doctor had drifted off again.

She kneeled down in front of me and gave me such a sad look. "Star, are you sure about this?" She asked me.

I nodded at her. "Of course I'm sure, River. I wouldn't survive in a universe with out him, we both know that. I only wished that he would let just me do it. He has so much more to live for still, he shouldn't have to do it."

"He'd never let you do it alone." River told me as she fiddled with a few more wires that I passed to her. "And it would kill him to lose you."

I shook me head at her, it would hurt him, but not kill him. He was stronger than that, he always had been. "No, he'd make it through without me. He done it before, he would do it again."

We carried on working in silence until the Doctor started to come back round again. "Star? How are you feeling?" He managed to mumble.

"I'm on top of the world, the same as you." I replied, knowing he was feeling just as rough and bad as me. "We're ready to go." I told him, reaching up and grasping one of his hands tightly. "It was nice to know you, River Song. I'm sorry for any times I am ever nasty to you."

"It's fine, Star." She said, trying to not tear up.

"Promise me something?" The woman nodded at me. "Do something good with your life. Be brilliant."

"I will, I promise."

"Good, because someone told me exactly how special you are. I always knew there was something different about you, River, I think that was one of the things that made me nervous around you."

River looked at me stunned. "Amy…" The Doctor mumbled, starting to drift off again. "I want Amy…" River nodded to him before walking away from the box and calling to Amy.

"Hi." Amy said, looking between both of us. We looked a right state, dirty, dusty and covered with wires.

"Amy Pond. The girl who waited all night in your garden. Was it worth it?" The Doctor managed to ask her.

"Shut up. Of course it was." She said quickly, looking anywhere but at either of us in the Pandorica.

"You asked me why I was taking you with me and I said, no reason. I was lying." The Doctor told her. I knew all I could do was sit there and stay silent, this was something the Doctor had to do.

"It's not important."

"Yeah, it's the most important thing left in the universe. It's why I'm doing this. Amy, your house was too big. That big, empty house, and just you." The Doctor said. I knew where it was leading, even though I had not know Amy until she flew away with the Doctor.

"And Aunt Sharon." Amy reminded him.

There was such a gloomy look on his face as he spoke to her. "Where were your mum and dad? Where was everybody who lived in that big house?"

"I lost my mum and dad."

"How?" I asked her. "What happened to them? Where did they go?" Amy and I had talked about everything, but she could never talk about her parents. When I asked, she would change the subject without even thinking about it.

"I… I don't." Fear was flooding through my red haired friend now.

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't panic, it's not your fault." I told her soothingly.

"I don't even remember."

"There was a crack in time in the wall of your bedroom, and it's been eating away at your life for a long time now. Amy Pond, all alone. The girl who didn't make sense. How could I resist?" The Doctor asked her, giving my hand a squeeze.

"How could I just forget?" Amy asked, still filled with fear and panic.

"Nothing is ever forgotten. Not really. But you have to try." I told her, glancing over to Rory. She had managed to remember him in the end.

"Star! Doctor! It's speeding up." River called as the room became brighter and brighter. The whole place started to shake as well, there was every chance that it was going to just crumble on top of us all.

"There's going to be a very big bang. Big Bang Two. Try and remember your family and they'll be there." The Doctor told her as Amy tucked his sonic screwdriver away in his pocket.

"How can I remember them if they never existed?"

"Because you're special." I told her. I knew there was something different about her from the moment I met her, and that was when I was human still. "That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe pouring into your head. You brought Rory back. You can bring them back too. You just have to remember and they'll be there."

Amy looked at the pair of us. "You won't."

"You'll have your family back. You won't need your imaginary friend any more." The Doctor told her. "Ha, Amy Pond, crying over me, eh? Guess what?" He said with a small smile.

"What?"

"Gotcha." We both said at the same time as the doors to the Pandorica started to close. I grabbed hold of the handheld device that was sitting by my feet and sent one last message back to those we were leaving behind.

"_Geronimo."_

After that, I blacked out.

"Oh, okay. We escaped then. Brilliant. I love it when we do that. Legs, yes, Bow tie, cool." I heard the Doctor speaking then felt him tugging at my arm. "Hey, come on you, time to wake up now." He said to me softly.

"You promised I could sleep. Let me sleep." I mumbled to him.

"Come on, Star." He started to help me to sit up. He reached his hand for his head after helping me, obviously feeling for something. "I can buy a fez." He decided.

"So, how did we escape then?" My question was answered for me.

"Lyle beach. The beach is the best. Automatic sand." I heard the Doctor call to someone.

"Automatic sand? What does that mean?" Amy answered.

"It's automated. Totally." That was my voice. "Cleans up the lolly sticks all by itself."

"No, hang on. That's last week when we went to Space Florida." The Doctor pointed out. "We're rewinding. Our time stream is unravelling, erasing. Closing."

"Doctor, if we're rewinding, then that means I'm going to leave you." He looked over at me sharply. "By the time you meet Amy, I will have gone. Because that isn't in my time stream."

He didn't answer me, he was too busy staring at the crack that was closing on the large monitor on the wall of the TARDIS. "Hello, universe. Goodbye Doctor and Star." He whispered. "Amy." The Doctor called, spotting her up by the console.

We both noticed her turn around, as if she had heard him, but wasn't quite sure.

Then we were pulled further back through our time streams. We both spotted Amy, fussing a cat sitting on the wall. "Ah, three weeks ago, when she put the card in the window." The Doctor said, noticing that we were where Craig lived.

"Amy!" I shouted. "I need to tell you something." She turned to look at us before heading off in the other direction. "She can hear me. But if she can hear me…" I slowly turned around, gripping the Doctor's hand tightly. We both saw the crack in the middle of the road.

"Ow." I moaned, feeling myself sitting on something awkward.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked, helping me to get up.

"Yeah, I guess. Oh, now we're back on the Byzantium. You better go and talk to Amy." I said, giving him a nudge forward.

"Amy, you need to start trusting me now. It's never been more important." The Doctor said, taking hold of Amy's hands.

"But you don't always tell me the truth."

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?" Amy asked. I remembered just how terrified she was of seeing that crack on the ship.

"I don't know yet, but we're working it out. Now listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No. No, that's not the point. You have to remember." He told her, resting his head against hers.

I watched as he moved away from Amy and over to where I was standing, when I was Summer and still a human. "Summer…" He whispered, before taking hold of my hands. "Summer, I hope that one day you can forgive me."

"Forgive you? What for?" My younger self asked him curiously.

"For all the thing's I have ever done to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you. I'm sorry, Summer. I am so, so sorry." That made me think, I never really found out what he meant by all of that. "And you have every right to be angry and upset with me."

"Doctor, I really don't understand what is going on. You're starting to scare me a little." The Doctor looked over at where I was standing.

"_I do believe you are going to kiss me, Theta."_ I told him, a slight grin on my face.

"Doctor, when did you get your ja…" A let a little smile creep across my face before I turned away. I remembered that kiss, I always would. It had seriously confused me, but now it all made sense.

"Time to go." I whispered to him, tugging him away from my other self. "This is where I leave you, isn't it?" I said to him, trying to hold back the tears. "I know what you're going to do, but she won't be able to bring me back."

"Star, she can and will bring you back." The Doctor insisted, holding me tightly.

"You go and tell little Amelia Pond all about that old, new, borrowed, blue box of yours." I said, no longer able to hold back the tears.

"It's our blue box." He reminded me.

"Not any more it isn't. Now it's just yours. We've had some good times, haven't we?" I was struggling to myself in control. All I wanted to do was break down and cry. This was the last time I was never going to see him. I had every faith that Amy could remember him, but she wouldn't remember me. When she was a child she never met me, she wouldn't know me.

"No." The Doctor said forcefully. "I am not letting you go ever again. And that means, right now, we go together." He demanded.

"Doctor, it doesn't work like that." I tried to tell him, but he just didn't want to listen. I held onto him tightly as everything started changing again.

"Amelia's house. When she was seven. The nigh she waited." The Doctor said, looking around the garden.

"Wait, how am I here? Doctor, how can I be here? This isn't my time stream." To say I was beginning to panic was an understatement.

"I don't care how, I only care that you are here." He said, giving me a gentle kiss.

When we broke apart we walked over to the small figure, lying on a suitcase. "The girl who waited." I whispered, looking at the young Amelia Pond.

"Come here, you." The Doctor said, picking her up and taking her inside. I picked up the suitcase and followed behind him, shutting the door as well.

I watched him as he lay the girl down in her bed. "It's funny. I thought if you could hear us, we could hang on somehow. Silly me. Silly old Doctor." I gripped his hand a little tighter.

"When you wake up, you'll have a mum and a dad." I told the little girl. "You won't even remember me, because you've never met me." I looked at the Doctor. "You'll remember him a little."

He nodded in agreement. "I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know. It was the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away." I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Did he ever tell you that he stole it?" I asked. "Well, he claims he borrowed it."

"I was always going to take it back." The Doctor protested, nudging me in the side a little. "Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever." I rested my head against the Doctor's shoulder as he spoke. "And the times we had, eh? Would have had. Never had." There was so much sadness in his voice. "In your dreams, they'll still be there. The Doctor, Summer and Amy Pond, the days that never came."

I tugged at his arm and looked at the crack on her wall. "The cracks are closing. But they can't close properly until we're on the other side. We don't belong here anymore." I felt his hand tighten around mine. We knew what we had to do next.

"I think we'll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory. Bye bye, Pond." The Doctor said, kissing the little girl on the top of the head.

I bent over her as well. "I'll miss you, Amy." I kissed her head as well and the Doctor and I walked towards the crack. "Well, this is it then." Both our hands were gripped together.

"Star, I love you." The Doctor said, pulling me closer to him.

"I love you too." I choked out. He leaned down and kissed me, before we walked through the crack and watched it closed behind us.

The next thing I knew, the Doctor was banging on my door. "Oi! Come on, it's time to get up now. You've been sleeping long enough." He called through the door.

"What's the point in getting up?" I mumbled.

"Well, if you want to miss Amy and Rory's wedding, then that's up to you." I could hear the smugness in his voice.

I let out a sigh and pulled myself out of bed. I pulled open the door and saw the Doctor standing there in his top hat and tails. "Amelia Pond will remember you, not me. She will bring you and the TARDIS back, not me."

"You made it this far with me, not sure how. Everything will be fine." He assured me.

"Yeah, whatever." The sound of someone knocking on the doors in the console room rang through the whole ship. "You better go and see who it is."

With a sigh the Doctor left me alone and went to see who it was. I went over to the wardrobe and pulled out the first dress that I found. It was deep red and came just past my knees. I took a deep breath and went to get changed, not that I felt the need to.

I heard the TARDIS engines grinding and the Doctor appeared at my door. "Want to go visit the Ponds?" He asked me, a manic grin in his face.

"What?" I asked him in confusion. "Do you mean it actually worked and Amy remembered you?"

He seemed a little shock at my comment. "She didn't just remember me, she remembered you as well."

My eyes went wide when he told me that. I didn't think that it would have been possible for her to remember me when we had never met. It just didn't seem real. As soon as the TARDIS landed I charged through the console room and out of the doors.

The first person I saw was the red haired bride. "Amy!" I cried, rushing towards her hand embracing her in a hug.

"Oh Summer! You're okay." There were tears of joy for both of us. I didn't think she would remember me, I was so sure of it. I was sure I was going to be torn away from everything that I knew again, but I wasn't.

The wedding reception then got into full swing, the Doctor was making himself look a complete idiot. He had his arms high in the air and was wiggling around. "You're terrible. That is embarrassing!" Amy called where she was sitting with her husband.

"That's the Doctor and the drunken giraffe." I told her, getting up and showing the kids that were around him how to really dance.

Eventually the music slowed down, and the newly weds were dancing closely together. "Two thousand years. The boy who waited. Good on you, mate." The Doctor said, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"The boy who waited and the girl who waited. Hey, at least they have each other now." I told him as we headed outside and towards Amy's large house.

"So, my Summer Star, where do you want to go?" The Doctor asked me, holding me as close to him as he possibly could.

"Any time, any place. As long as we are together, I don't care." I told him, smiling away.

"Did you dance?" A woman asked us. "Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?"

We looked up and saw River Song standing in front of us. "You tell us." The Doctor said to her.

She smiled. "Spoilers."

I pulled her diary out of the Doctor's jacket pocket. "The writing's all back, but I didn't peek, and neither did he." I told her, handing it back to her.

"Thank you."

"Are you married, River?" I asked her suddenly. I don't know why I decided to ask, it just came out.

"Are you asking?"

"Yes." I said.

"Yes."

The Doctor looked between River and I, slightly confused. "No, hang on. Did you think she was asking you to marry her or… or asking if you were married?" He said quickly and nervously.

"Yes." River simply replied with a huge grin.

"No, but, was that yes, or yes?" He asked, getting himself even more confused.

"Yes."

I had to hold back my laughter. "River, who are you?" I asked, taking the conversation in another direction.

Suddenly her face turned very grim. "You're going to find out very soon now. And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes." She said, before hitting her vortex manipulator and disappearing.

"Oh, come on. I want to go home and cuddle up in bed. Since the universe has been saved and all that." I said, pulling the Doctor along with me, not that he even tried to protest.

"Oi!" Amy called, bursting into the TARDIS. "Where are you off to? We haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet." She said.

I couldn't help but grin at her. "Actually the Doctor and I have had a snog in the shrubbery, Amy. Go back to your husband." The Doctor just wrapped his arm tighter around my waist.

"Sorry, you two. Shouldn't have slipped away. Bit busy, you know?" He said, grinning at me a little. When we got back to the TARDIS, we did spend a little bit of time just being together.

"You just saved the whole of space and time? Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow." Rory suggested.

"Space and time isn't safe yet. The TARDIS exploded for a reason. Something drew the TARDIS to this particular date, and blew it up. Why? And why now?" The Doctor asked, starting to get a little stressed. That was when the phone started ringing. "The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and I have to… Star, do you mind?"

I picked the phone up and let the Doctor carry on with his thinking. "Hello? Oh, hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line. No, no, no, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the seventh Obelisk. We were at the prayer meeting. Well, no, I get that it's important. An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express…" I paused and looked over to the Doctor. "In space. Give us a mo." I turned to look at Amy and Rory. "Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye."

"Yeah, I think it's goodbye." Amy said before turning to Rory. "Do you think it's goodbye?"

"Definitely goodbye." He said, as they both headed to the doors of the TARDIS and shouted goodbye.

I looked over at the Doctor, grinning away. "Don't worry about a thing, your Majesty. We're on our way." I said before putting the phone down. "So, looks like we have a few more adventures to go with the Ponds." I said to the Doctor, leaning against him.

"Yeah, us and the Ponds. It's going to be one great adventure." He said, before leaning down and kissing me.

* * *

**A/N: And that's the end of series 5! Okay, so I have the Christmas special still to write, and I am going to do the Sarah Jane adventure as well. But it's still sad. **

**But don't worry, there are more twists to come with the next series. There are still secrets being kept, big secrets. The Doctor is going to let his emotions get the better of him at some point. **

**Anyway, I hope you all had a good New Year. **

**Pippa.**


	29. A Christmas Carol Pt1

**A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews. And the favourites/followed. It all means a lot to me. Sorry this has taken me to long to update, I thought I was getting better, but I got worse.**

* * *

"Come on, you lazy Time Lord. We can't stay here the whole time Amy and Rory are away." I told him, trying to pull myself out of his arms.

"Yes we can." He told me, locking his arms tighter around me. "I'm not moving from this bed and neither are you."

I caught a few of his thoughts and turned to face him, my mouth hanging open. "Why, you dirty old man!" I called, whacking him playfully on the arm. "How could you think such things?" I said, pretending to be offended by what I had seen.

"That's not what you said last night. Or yesterday, or the day before that." There was a sly grin on his face. After dropping the newly weds off for a honeymoon, we had been spending some quality time together. Which resulted in us hardly leaving the TARDIS.

I blushed, quiet furiously. "Shut up, Theta." I mumbled to him, letting my hair hang over my face to cover my red cheeks. I had been such a long time since we had really been together. After everything that happened since the TARDIS brought us back together, neither of us had really even thought about it.

We both knew that things were different, and we both needed the time to adjust to everything. But now, we were finally making progress. I guess it helped that after the Pond's wedding, we had a proper chat about everything. We were starting to get back to the way things were before he left home, before everything went wrong, for both of us.

I was saved from any more thoughts from the Doctor when an alarm sounded out through the whole of the TARDIS. I turned and looked at him, his face was just as much in a panic as mine. We didn't waste any time and quickly got ourselves decent and ran to the console room.

"Oh no." I groaned, looking at the scanner. "Message from Amy and Rory. Well, more like a distress signal."

The Doctor glanced at the screen and frowned. "Locking on." He said, running around the console. "And off we go." He said, pulling the final lever, bringing us along side the ship. As he did, I sent a message to our friends in need, 'Come along Pond'.

"Okay, so the spaceship is crashing, you really do just attract trouble." I moaned at him as we checked the environment and the status of the ship.

"Oi, I have been with you the whole time, how is this my fault?" He cried, hurt by my words.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Because it was you, dear Doctor, who suggested they go there for their honeymoon."

"Oh, just shut up and help me drive." He moaned as he playfully bumped me around the console.

"Hmm, well that's interesting." I said to myself as I looked at the scanner. "Clouds that aren't really clouds." I managed to lose myself in my thoughts for a moment before remembering what I was actually meant to be doing. "Oh look, there is something controlling the so called clouds." I mumbled.

"Star, you found anything yet?" The Doctor called over the noise the TARDIS was making,

"Yeah, I have actually. Let's go and cause some trouble." I said, before pulling the lever and sending us away from the crashing spaceship and towards the planet below.

I landed the TARDIS on the roof of the building where all the problems were coming from, at the Doctor's orders. "What the devil do you think you are doing, mister?" I asked him as he surveyed the landscape.

"What date is it showing again?" He asked me, not paying any attention to me.

I wandered back inside and looked at the scanner. "Oh, wonderful." I mumbled, before going back to the doors. "Christmas Eve. Don't you even think about it, Doctor." I warned him, knowing exactly what he was going to do next now.

"Come on, have a bit of fun." I said, trying to drag me with him.

"That is not what I call fun." I told him, frowning at him. "Don't think you can drag me into this with you. I'll take the sensible way if you don't mind." I turned away from him and started making my way back into the TARDIS.

"You're no fun. No fun at all. Where's you sense of adventure?" He moaned, getting ready to throw one of his little tantrums to try and get me to change my mind.

"I think you know how much fun I can be." I informed him, giving him a reminded of what we had been up to the past few days. "But hey, if you don't think that's fun then I'll make sure to never behave like that, ever again." There was a smirk on my face now, I knew I had him cornered.

"Okay, fine." He mumbled, his face slightly red from what I showed him. "You go and wait inside. I won't be long."

I rolled my eyes at him and took the TARDIS to the room next to the one where I knew he would end up in. I listened at the door, waiting for his arrival.

"No more people allowed on this planet. I don't make the rules. Oh, no, hang on, I do." A man said. "Right you lot. Poor, begging people. Off home and pray for a miracle."

That was when I heard a little bit of commotion in the room. _"Oh, this is so much fun!" _The Doctor cried in my head.

I just rolled my eyes and snuck into the room, where soot was pouring down the chimney. It soon snuffed out the fire, and one completely filthy Time Lord rolled out of it.

"Ah. Yes. Blimey. Sorry. Christmas Even on a rooftop. Saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, what the hell." The Doctor said, after dusting himself off a little.

"Yeah, and the next time it does that, I'm going to have to whack it out of you." I called to him, wandering over from where I had been hiding in the shadows.

"You always have to spoil the fun don't you." He moaned, trying to draw me in with one of his adorable faces.

I smiled at him gently. "Hmm, because I don't know what fun is, do I?" I let him see exactly what we could have been doing if we weren't trying to save over 4000 lives. As expected, it made him blush. "Nice try dear." I said, reaching up and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

That was when the Doctor finally noticed the family that was in the room as well. He walked over to them, taking me with him, and looked at the little boy. "Don't worry, fat fellow will be doing the rounds later." He told him before going back over to the chimney he had fallen in from. "I'm just scoping out the general chimney-ness. Yes. Nice size, good traction. Big tick." He said, pretending to tick off his invisible check list.

"Fat fellow?" The father of the family asked curiously.

"Father Christmas, Santa Clause." I told him, naming only a few of the name I knew for him.

"Or, as we've always known him, Jeff." The Doctor said, coming back over to where I was standing and resting his chin on the top of my head.

"There's no such person as Father Christmas." The little boy protested.

Both the Doctor and I looked at the boy in horror before I rummaged through the Doctor's jacket pocket. "Oh, yeah?" I whipped out a photograph and showed it to the family.

"Us and Father Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952." The Doctor told them proudly. "See him at the back with the blonde? Albert Einstein. The four of us together. Brrm, watch out." I gave him a light elbow in the stomach to shut him up.

"Right, okay?" I said to the boy, hoping he now believed in the man. "Keep the faith. Stay off the naughty list. This one never does so he never get's what he wants." The Doctor lifted his chin from my head and grabbed hold of my hand.

"Ooh, now what's this then?" He said, as he pulled me over to the machine that I had detected. "I love this. A big flashy lighty thing. That's what brought us here." The Doctor said, getting all excited, as usual. "Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them." He said, before plonking himself in the chair by the controls and spinning around to face everyone again. "Not actually, but give me time, and a crayon."

"No, whatever you do, do not give that man a crayon." I said, glaring at the Doctor for even suggesting it. "Give him a crayon and the whole universe would be in trouble." The Doctor poked me in the side, making me let out yelp.

"Now, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah? And it controls the sky." He said, letting his brain work furiously.

"Well, technically it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all. Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice." I said quickly walking around the room a little, the Doctor following behind me. "Oh God, I really am starting to sound more like you." I moaned.

The Doctor just beamed away at me. "Ice clouds. Love that." He said, before kissing my head. "Who's she?" He asked, pointing to a woman in a white case.

"Nobody important." The old man who I recognised from speaking about the spaceship crashing earlier.

"Nobody important?" I asked in shock.

"Blimey, that's amazing." The Doctor said, looking through the glass porthole in the case and at the woman's face. "Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before."

I watched him as he charged back over to the machine in the room. "Now, this console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat. If I had a hat." He looked at me sadly.

"No, you are not getting another fez." I told him firmly. He tried, once again, to pull the puppy dog eyes on me. "Not going to work." I said, giving him a peck on the lips. It was really the only part of him that wasn't covered in soot.

"I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat. I don't want to shock a nun, or something." He said as he tried working on the controls. "Sorry, rambling, because… because this isn't working!" He cried in frustration.

"The controls are isomorphic. One to one. They respond only to me." The old man told him.

"Oh, you fibber. Isomorphic. There's no such thing." The Doctor said, still trying to get them to work.

"_Yeah, laser screwdriver?"_ I reminded him, as the old man approached the machine, flicked a switch off and then back on again.

"_Oh, be quiet."_ He grumbled at me, getting frustrated as the controls still refused to work for him, even with the help of his sonic screwdriver. "These controls are isomorphic." He concluded, putting his screwdriver back into his pocket.

"The skies of this entire world are mine. My family tamed them, and now I own them." The old man told us. I was really starting to dislike the fellow. He was ready to let over 4000 people die, because he was just stubborn.

"Tamed the sky? What does that mean?" The Doctor asked him, fully confused.

"It means, I'm Kazran Sardick. How can you possibly not know who I am?" There was a hint of surprise in the man tone.

"Well, just easily bored, I suppose." The Doctor said, earning a whack from me. _"Never bored with you. Not ever."_ He told me, kissing the top of my head.

"_Yeah, nice save."_ I called to him, grinning way a little.

"So, I need your help, then." The Doctor called to the man, following him back across the room and taking me with him.

"Make an appointment."

"There are four thousand and three people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt." I told Kazran seriously. "Without your help, they're going to die."

"Yes." He said, just confirming what I said. He didn't seem to care about those people, he seemed only to care about himself.

"You don't have to let that happen." I warned him. But something was telling me it wasn't going to be that easy to convince him.

"I know, but I'm going to. Bye bye. Bored now. Chuck." Kazran called. One of his servant grabbed hold of the Doctor and me. He managed to slip out of his grasp easily, while I struggled a little bit more before breaking free.

"Ooh, look at you, looking all tough now." Kazran stated as the Doctor and I stood before him as he sat himself down in a big leather chair.

"There are four thousand and three people we won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?" The Doctor asked him, gripping my hand tightly.

"Where?" The man asked casually, really not caring at all.

"Four thousand and four." I hissed at him before the Doctor could.

"Was that a sort of threat-y thing?" The old man asked.

"Whatever happens tonight, remember, you brought it on yourself." The Doctor warned him. My worry for Amy and Rory, and everyone else on that ship was just growing as the minutes passed. The longer they were trapped in that cloud belt, the less chance they had of making it out.

"Yeah, yeah, right." Kazran said, waving off what we had just told him. "Get them out of here. And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."

The little boy from the family who were being ushered out of the room picked up a lump of coal and tossed it at the old man, hitting him on the head. Kazran was quick to get out of his chair and rush at the boy.

"No! Stop, don't!" I yelled as the Doctor and I were restrained. The poor boy looked terrified.

"Don't you dare! You leave him!" His father shouted, as Kazran raised his hand, ready to make contact with the boy.

Slowly, Kazran lowered his hand and turned away. "Get them out of here. Get that foul smelling family out of here. Out!" He shouted. As the family were dragged away I looked over at the Doctor.

"_Couldn't hit the boy. I wonder why."_ I asked him, looking around the room.

"_You'll figure it out. You always do."_ He told me, before kissing the top of my head and following Kazran.

"What? What do you want?" The old man asked when he realised that we were still there.

The Doctor shrugged. "A simple life. But you didn't hit the boy." He mused.

"Well, I will next time."

"You see, you won't. Now why? What am I missing?" He asked, looking over at me. I nodded at him, having managed to work it out.

"Get out. Get out of this house." The old man ordered. It was clear that he wanted us to go, but it was clear we had no intention of leaving just yet.

"The chairs." I told the Doctor. He followed my gaze and looked at them. I saw the light bulb go off inside his head.

"Of course, the chairs. Stupid me, the chairs. Brilliant, Star." He kissed the top of my head, again.

Kazran looked between us in utter confusion. "The chairs?"

"There's a portrait on the wall behind us. Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father." I explained to him. "All the chairs are angled away from it."

The Doctor just beamed at me. "Daddy's been dead for twenty years, but you still can't get comfortable where he can see you." He deducted. "There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve."

"You're scared of him, and you're scared of being like him." I told the man softly. I knew how that felt, I was scared of being like my own father, especially in that one regeneration where I was the spitting image of him. "And good for you, you're not like him, not really. Do you know why?"

"Why?" He grumbled, wanting to be left alone.

"Because you didn't hit the boy. Merry Christmas Mr Sardick."

"I despise Christmas." He spat, as the Doctor took hold of my hand tightly and we headed towards the door.

"You shouldn't. It's very you." The Doctor called back to him.

"It's what?" The man asked, turning around to face us. "What do you mean?"

"Halfway out of the dark." The Doctor and I said together, beaming away.

"Okay, so that could have gone better." I told the Doctor as we headed outside of the house. "Time to check in with Amy." I said, grabbing a device out of the Doctor's pocket and passing it back to him when I heard Amy speaking.

"_Have you got a plan yet?"_ She asked us, the noise from the ship could be heard in the background.

"Yes, I do." The Doctor told her, making me roll my eyes at him.

"_Are you lying? Summer, is he lying?"_ Amy called to me.

"Yes, he is." I told her, getting a light whack from the Doctor.

"_Don't treat me like an idiot." _

"Okay. The good news. We've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt. I could use it to clear you a flight corridor and you could land easily." The Doctor told her.

"_Oh, hey. Hey, that's great news."_

"You haven't heard the bad news yet. He can't control the machine." I told her.

"_Less great." _

"But we've met a man who can." The Doctor told her.

"_Ah well. There you go then."_ Amy said, trying to keep track of good news and bad news.

"And he hates him." I was the one getting stuck with telling Amy all the bad news it seemed.

"_Was he being extra charming and clever?"_ Amy asked, a hint of playfulness in her tone.

I held in my giggles. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"_Lucky guess."_ I could actually see Amy shrugging her shoulders in my head when she said that, but I could also imagine the grin on her face.

"Sir? Miss?" A man called to us.

"Hang on." The Doctor called to Amy as we both turned around.

"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr Sardick like that. Bless you, sir, miss, and merry Christmas." It was the father of the family we had seen in the old man's house.

"Merry Christmas. Lovely. Sorry, bit busy." The Doctor told him, trying his best not to be rude.

"You'd better get inside. The fog's thick tonight, and there's a fish warning." The man told us.

"Alright, yeah. Sorry, fish?" The Doctor asked in confusion. Even I was confused, and that didn't happen very often any more.

"Yeah. You know what they're like when they get a big hungry."

"Yeah, fish. I know fish." The Doctor said. "Fish?" I just kept on looking up at the sky. That machine was controlling the clouds, which contained the fish.

"It's all Mr Sardick's fault, I reckon. He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood. Thank you. Bless you once again, sir, miss." The man said, shaking our hands before running off.

The Doctor turned and looked at me. "Fish?" All I could do was keep looking up at the sky.

"_Doctor, Summer, the Captain says we've got less than an hour." _Amy called, getting our attention again. _"What should we be doing?"_

"Fish." The Doctor and I said at the same time as we notice a shoal swimming around a street light.

"_Sorry, what?"_

"Fish that can swim in fog. I love new planets." I said, beaming away at the Doctor. "Oh, I sound just like you." I moaned a little.

All he could do was grin at me. "And there is nothing wrong with that at all." He told me, leaning down and kissing me on the lips.

"_Doctor? Summer? Please don't get distracted." _Amy called.

We quickly broke away. "Um, yes. Right, well." The Doctor mumbled while I looked at the fish some more.

"_Doctor, were you and Summer kissing?" _

"What? No." He said, sounding a little outraged that she would even suggest that. "Of course we weren't why would you even think that?"

"_Well… you were… distracted."_

"Amy, everything distracts the Doctor. You and Rory are the ones on honeymoon, not us." I reminded her. "I bet you are Rory have done more than…"

"_Yes, okay. Shut up."_ Amy called. I knew she would now be blushing furiously for my comment.

"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellows?" The Doctor asked, reaching out for the little fish. That was when I noticed a rather large shadow overhead. "Look at you, sweet little fishy-wishies. Mind you, fish in the fog, so the cloud cover… Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Careful up there, Amy." I told her. The little fish weren't going to be the only fish in the fog.

"_Oh great, thanks, Summer, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off. We've got less than an hour!" _She reminded us.

I looked over at the clock as it struck 11. "We know. Don't worry, we'll fix this." I reassured her. That was when a song started coming through the speakers lining the street.

"_Doctor? Summer? How are you getting us off here?" _I know she was worried, so was I.

"Oh, just give us a minute. Can't use the TARDIS, because it can't lock on. Even though Star is absolutely brilliant, even she can't get through it." The Doctor told her. "So, that ship needs to land. But it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decided to turn nice just in time for Christmas Day."

"_Doctor, I can't hear you. What is that? Is that singing?"_

"A Christmas carol." He told her, looking around and thinking.

"_A what?"_ She asked, not able to her him over the song.

"A Christmas carol." He repeated.

"_A what?"_

I let a smile creep across my face. "A Christmas Carol!" I shouted, making even the Doctor jump a little. "Think about it, a Christmas Carol, your old friend Charlie. A Christmas Carol!" I started jumping up and down on the spot.

"Oh, you're brilliant!" He said, his eyes lighting up and he gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

"_Doctor? Summer?" _

"Kazran Sardick. Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick." The Doctor said, forgetting all about Amy.

"Come on, let's get this show started." I started pulling him back to the house we had just left, knowing now what we could do to change the man and get him to help us.

We managed to sneak into the house, okay, we didn't actually have to sneak, the house was suddenly empty thanks to the Doctor. I noticed Kazran asleep in his chair. "Okay, you got that thing working yet? Or do I need to do it for you?" I whispered to the Doctor.

"I can manage thank you very much." He said grumpily. I tip toed over to him and reached up, giving him a light kiss on the lips.

"I'm sorry. I know you can." I whispered. He let a smile take over his face and suddenly the projector came to life and the video started playing.

"_Hello, my name is Kazran Sardick. I'm twelve and a half, and this is my bedroom."_ The boy in the video said. _"This is my top secret special project. For my eyes only. Merry Christmas."_

The old Kazran suddenly sat up when he heard his father shouting his name. Even the boy in the video looked panicked. The old man got up from his chair and started walking towards the wall that the video was being projected onto.

"_Kazran! Kazran, what are you doing? What are you doing?" _His father in the video bellowed at the boy. _"I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child."_

"_I was just going to make a film of the fish"_ The little boy answered nervously. The whole thing was making me feel uneasy, and the Doctor dropped my hand, pulling me against his chest instead.

"_The fish are dangerous."_ His father reminded him.

"_I just wanted to see them."_

"_Don't be stupid. You're far too young."_ His father told him.

"_Everyone at school's seen the fish."_

"_That's enough!" He shouted at his son. "You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."_ There was a hint of disgust in his voice as he said that.

"_The singing works. I've seen it. The fish like the singing." _Young Kazran told his father.

"_What does it matter what the fish like?"_

"_People say we don't have to be afraid of the fish. They're not really interested in us."_ I had to admit, the boy had some guts to try and stand up to his father, he didn't seem much like a caring man but the boy was trying to reason with him.

"_You don't listen to people. You listen to me."_ He said, before hitting his son. I noticed the old man flinch and reach for his cheek, as if he was remembering what happened and suddenly felt the pain all over again.

"_Ow!" _The boy cried. _"I'm sorry father."_

"_This is my house. While you're under my roof, you'll obey my instructions. I don't care what you…"_ The Doctor took this moment to come out of the shadows with me and approach Kazran.

"It's okay, it's okay." The Doctor said, placing a hand on the old mans shoulder.

"What have you done? What is this?" He demanded to know.

"Found it on an old drive. Sorry about the picture quality. Had to recover the data using quantum enfolding." He told him.

"And a paperclip." I added. "Paperclips are amazing things." I mentioned. The longer I spent with the Doctor, the more he seemed to rub off on me. I seemed to act like him more and more as time went past. Not that it was a bad thing, actually, it was a good thing.

The Doctor sat himself down in Kazran's chair and picked up the newspaper. "Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants. They quit. Apparently, they won the lottery at exactly the same time. Which is a bit luck when you think about it." The Doctor said, beaming away.

"There isn't a lottery." Kazran pointed out.

"Yeah, as he said, lucky." I said, flashing Kazran a smile.

"_There's a fog warning tonight. You keep these windows closed, understand? Closed."_ Kazran's father ordered him on the video.

"Who are you?" The old man asked us, looking us up and down.

"Tonight, We're the Ghost's of Christmas Past." The Doctor said, holding me tightly.

"_Mrs Mantovani will be looking after you tonight. You stay here till she comes. Do you understand? Do you understand?"_

"Did you ever get to see a fish, back then, when you were a kid?" I asked. I could see that it was important for him when he was a child.

"What does it matter to you?" The man spat.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Look how it mattered to you." Looking at the screen, the young Kazran was now crying at his desk.

"I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson." He told us, looking at the video himself.

"Ah, which is?" The Doctor asked hopefully.

"Nobody comes. Get out! Get out of my house!" The man ordered, going into a little bit of a frenzy. The Doctor pulled me behind him, to protect me from the man, not that I really needed any protection, he knew I could look after myself.

"Okay. Okay, but we'll be back. Way back. Way, way back." He said, ushering me through the doors and into the room where I had landed the TARDIS after leaving him on the roof.

"Right, Kazran Sardick, bedroom when he was twelve and a half. And done." I said, landing the TARDIS.

"Mrs Manters, sorted." The Doctor called, running into the control room. "Shall we?"

I put my arm through his and we left the TARDIS, finding ourselves right outside Kazran Sardick's bedroom window. "See? Back." The Doctor said, opening the window.

"Who are you?" The young boy asked us, wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his pyjamas.

"Hi. I'm the Doctor, this is Summer. We're your new babysitters." The Doctor told him, jumping down into the room before catching me as I jumped into his arms.

"Where's Mrs Mantovani?" The boy asked us.

"Oh, you'll never guess. Clever old Mrs Manters, she only went and won the lottery." The Doctor told him jumping up and down on the boy's bed.

"There isn't any lottery." The boy informed us. Something told me that the old man Kazran that we had just left behind was shouting exactly the same thing at the video.

"I know. What a woman." The Doctor said, jumping off the bed and looking around the room while I just stood to the side watching. I knew this was going to be hard for Kazran to understand, it was going to be difficult.

"If you're my new babysitters, why are you climbing in the window?"

"Because if we was climbing out of the window, we'd be going on the wrong direction. Pay attention." The Doctor told him.

"But Mrs Mantavani's always my babysitter." The young Kazran protested.

"Times change." The Doctor said, staring straight down the lens of the camera on the boy's desk. "Wouldn't you say? You see? Christmas Past."

"Who are you talking to?" Kazran asked him, as if he was mad.

"You." He said, before I pushed him to one side so that I could explain things to the old man watching the video.

"Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will too. It's going to be a bit scary, slightly unnerving and possibly make you want to cry. But you'll get the hang of it. Trust me." I said, staying calm and speaking softly.

"I don't understand." Young Kazran said, looking at the Doctor and I rather oddly.

"I bet you don't. I wish I could see your face." The Doctor said, before throwing himself on the boys bed. "Right then, your bedroom. Great. Let's see. You're twelve years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed. Cupboard! Big cupboard. I love a cupboard. Do you know, there's a thing called a face spider." The Doctor told the boy. "It's just like a tiny baby's head with spider legs, and it's specifically evolved to scuttle up the back of bedroom cupboards." He said, looking in the cupboard.

I whacked him around the head. _"Idiot."_ I mumbled to him.

He looked at me, and gave me a look that told me he was sorry. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Right, so. What are we going to do? Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy. Girls? Yeah?"

"Doctor, you might want to shut up now. You're heading in the right direction to sleep on the sofa tonight." I warned him. "What do you like to do, Kazran?" I asked him, bending down to his level to talk to him.

"Is he really a babysitter?" He asked me, looking over at the Doctor.

"I think you'll find I'm universally recognised as a mature and responsible adult." He said, whipping out his psychic paper.

The little boy looked at the paper. "It's just a lot of wavy lines."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Yeah, it's shorted out. Finally, a lie too big."

"I could have told you that one." I said to the Doctor before turning to Kazran. "I actually am a babysitter." I told him, pulling a piece of paper out of my own pocket. "And I actually have the qualification to prove it."

The Doctor was quick to snatch it out of my hand. "Where did you get that?" He asked me as he looked at it.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "Worked in the nursery a bit back home. Ended up doing it then." I told him, taking the paper from him and putting it away.

"Okay, I'm not really a babysitter, even if she is. But it's Christmas Eve. You don't want a real one. You want us."

"Why? What's so special about the pair of you?" Kazran asked us.

"Have you ever seen Mary Poppins?" The Doctor asked hi, before I could say anything.

"No."

"Good, because that would have been a rubbish comparison." I told him, glaring at the Doctor a little.

"Fish in the fog. Fish in the clouds. How do people ever get bored? How did boredom ever get invented?" The Doctor said, standing up at the window and looking outside.

"_Rambling." _Called to him, making him shut up.

"My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt. Take the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them. We can charge whatever we like." The boy told us, walking away from his desk.

"Yeah. We've seen your dad's machine." The Doctor said, as I noticed a rather large fish fly past the open window.

"What? You can't have."

"Tame the sky. Human beings. You always manage to find the boring alternative, don't you? You want to see one? A fish. We can do that. We can see a fish." I knew the Doctor was determined to catch a fish now, hoping that it would have a good impact on the boy and help to change him for the better.

"Aren't either if you going to tell me it's dangerous?" Kazran asked.

"Dangerous? Come on, we're boys. Well we are anyway. And you know what boys say in the face of danger." The Doctor said, resting his chin on the top of my head, as he seemed to like doing.

"What?"

"Mummy." I accidently on purpose let my elbow make contact with the Doctor's stomach.

"Hey, when can I go and meet Jack?" I ask. Him saying mummy just reminded me of that time he ended up in 1941 with his companion, Rose. From what I could tell from the Doctor's memories, Jack was a rather handsome man.

"Never. I am not having him flirting with you. Not ever. That man is trouble, no, you are never going to meet Captain Jack Harkness." He told me seriously, even wagging his finger in my face to make his point.

"Oh, but come on. What's the harm in me meeting him? You know what I could do to him if he decided to try it on." I showed him exactly what I would do to any man that got near me when I didn't want them to. My power and energy would certainly make an impact on them.

I noticed the Doctor's face paled a little. I don't think he approved of my method. "Please?" I begged him, giving him the saddest puppy dog eyes I possibly could.

"We are not discussing this here. End of conversation." He told me, turning to look at the boy again. "Right, are we catching a fish or not?" He asked, trying to get his mind off what I could possibly do to him and what could possibly happen if I met the former companion of his.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I am really sorry for how long it has taken me to update. I've been pretty sick all year so far, and it hasn't been fun at all.**

**The Doctor and Summer seem to be letting themselves get a little closer now. I wonder why that could be? Okay, I don't wonder, I know. But you will find out soon, honest. **

**I was going to write the Sarah Jane adventure that comes after this, but I don't think I will be. I'm going to do it for Jumping Through Time still, but I don't think it really works with Summer in it. **

**Also, There is a list of my unpublished stories with summaries on my profile now. I've been thinking about posting another one, due to the fact that I have actually worked hard on them in the past and have been reading through them recently. I may put a poll up to see if people want one posted. **

**As always, reviews are love. I know I've not been the best at update, and for that I really am sorry. Trust me, I hate sleeping for almost 18 hours a day.**

**Pippa.**


	30. A Christmas Carol Pt2

**A/N: Sorry it had taken me so long, again. Life got in the way, but here it is. Sorry in advance for any spelling and grammar error, I will' be looking out for them.**

* * *

We were hiding in the cupboard, with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver hanging from a piece of string in the bedroom. The end of the string was tied around the Doctor's finger as we sat there, waiting.

"Are there any face spiders in here?" Kazran asked us, sounding a little nervous.

"Nah, not this time of night. They'll all be sleeping in your mattress." I smacked the Doctor on the chest.

"_Idiot. Stop trying to frighten the boy."_ I called to him. "So, why are you so interested in the fish?" I asked Kazran.

"Because they're scary."

A grin formed on the Doctor's face. "Good answer."

"What kind of tie is that?" The boy asked, looking at the blue bow tie he was wearing.

"A cool one." The Doctor replied quickly.

"Why is it cool?"

I couldn't help but grin, this child has so many questions, and I loved that. "Why are you so interested in the fish?" I asked him, looking over at him.

"My school. During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them. A whole shoal. No one was hurt, but it was the most fish even seen below the mountains." He told us. I knew there was more to it than just that.

"Were you scared?" The Doctor asked.

"I wasn't there. I was off sick." That was when I realised why he was so desperate to see the fish.

"Ooh, lucky you." The Doctor replied, before looking and seeing the sad expression on the boys face. "Not lucky."

"It's all anyone ever talks about now. The day the fish came. Everyone's got a story."

I looked at him sadly. "But you don't."

The Doctor looked at the laptop computer style device that the boy had in his desk earlier and was recording with. "I see." He said, starting to understand.

"Why are you recording this?" Young Kazran asked as he followed the Doctor's gaze.

"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?" I asked him, noticing the string tried around the Doctor's finger start to pull a little.

"Sorry, what?" He asked, looking t me as if I was mad. That was slightly insulting, if anyone was mad, it was the man in the bow tie.

"Because you're not paying attention now." The Doctor told him, and finally he noticed the string. "Shush."

The Doctor and I both got up, and he placed his ear against the door, listening. "Doctor, Summer, are you sure?" Kazran asked, seeming a little scared.

"Trust us." Was all the Doctor said to him.

"Okay." The boy didn't seem convinced, he was still scared and it was obvious.

"Oi. Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. And neither does Summer, I'm a daft old man but she always sticks by me. Trust us."

Kazran smiled up at the pair of us. "Yes."

I noticed a grin spread across the Doctor's face. "That's why it's cool." He told him, slowly opening the door and stepping outside.

I let him go out and stayed with Kazran, peeking out of the crack a little. "Hello, fishy. Let's see. Interesting. Crystalline fog, eh? Maybe carrying a tiny electrical charge." The Doctor rambled. "Is that how you fly, little fishy?"

"What is it?" Kazran asked, trying to sneak a look around me. But I held him back, something was telling me that something very bad was going to happen, very soon. "What kind? Can I see?"

"Just stay there a moment." I told him gently, slipping out of the door a little more.

"Is it big?" The boy called from the cupboard.

"Nah, just a little one." The Doctor told him. "So, little fellow, what do you eat?" Suddenly a rather large fish swam into the room and gobbled up the little fish, and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, in one gulp.

"How little?" The Doctor and I both hesitated a little at the sight of the giant shark we were not facing. "Can I come out?

"No, no. Maybe just wait there for a moment." I told him, trying to stay calm as we edged back towards the cupboard Kazran was in.

"What colour is it?"

"Big. Big colour." The Doctor replied, pushing me behind him as we made a run for the door.

"What's happening?" Kazran ask in a panic as we both flew into the tiny room and leaned against the closed door.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now." I told him, rather quickly.

"Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I think I understand how the fog works, which is going to help us land a spaceship in the future and save a lot of lives. And I bet I get some very interesting readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it back from the shark in your bedroom." The Doctor rambled in a panic.

"There's a shark in my bedroom?" Kazran asked, excited and scared at the same time.

"Oh fine, focus on that part." The Doctor moaned at him.

There was a thumping against the door before everything went silent. Only, I knew it couldn't have been over just yet.

"Has it gone? What's it doing?" Kazran asked.

I just looked over at the Doctor thoughtfully. "What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and your taking a run-up?" I asked him, standing up and pulling Kazran away from the door.

We all made it away from the door just in time as the shark rammed into it and got wedged in the door.

"It's going to eat us. It's going to eat us. It's going to eat us. Is it going to eat us?" Kazran asked in such a panic as the shark thrashed about. I kept my arms around the boy, trying to protect him and keep him calm.

"Well, maybe we're going to eat it, but I don't like the odds. It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny shark brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably send a pulse and stun it." The Doctor rambled, trying to think of a solution to the mess he had managed to get us into.

"Well, where's your screwdriver?" Young Kazran shouted at him. I was more focused on keeping the boy out of harms way than getting involved with their bickering.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, within reach." He told him, as I looked at the green glow I could see in the sharks mouth.

"Oh, lovely." I moaned sensing what the Doctor was going to do next.

"You know, there's a real chance the way it's wedged in the doorway is keeping its mouth open."

"There is?" Kazran asked, seemed a little calmer now than he had been before, which I was pleased about.

"Just agree with me, because I've only got two goes, and then it's your turn." The Doctor told him, a little bit of excitement coming through in his voice.

"Two goes?"

"Two arms." The Doctor told him, holding his arms up and waggling his fingers. "Right, then. Okay. Geronimo. Open wide." The Doctor said, reaching his arm inside the sharks mouth. All I could see were the rows and rows upon teeth around him. I was feeling very nervous, and very uncomfortable.

"_Hey, don't worry, Star. I'm not going to get my arm bitten off."_ He tried to assure me. All I could do was glare at him.

"_Just concentrate on getting your stupid screwdriver out of that stupid shark before something does happen."_ I growled at him.

Unfortunately, he only managed to retrieve half of his screwdriver. But it wasn't just his beloved sonic that was in trouble now, as we stood on the roof outside of Kazran's bedroom with the shark lying on in front of us.

"What's the big fishy done to you?" The Doctor said, fussing over his screwdriver. "Swallowed half of you, that's what. Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."

Kazran and I were more concerned about the shark, which seemed to be struggling to stay alive. "Summer, I think she's dying." Kazran told me as we knelt beside her.

"With half his screwdriver still inside." I said, nodding towards the Doctor. "I think she is as well. I doubt they are able to survive for long outside of the cloud belt. Just quick raiding trips on a foggy night."

"Can't we get it back up there?" He asked me, looking so young and hopeful. He was nothing like the man that the Doctor and I had met in the future. "We were just going to stun it. I didn't want to kill it." There were tears streaming down the boy's face.

"She was trying to eat you." The Doctor told him, coming over and joining us after realising there was no hope with fixing his screwdriver.

"She was hungry." The young boy protested.

"I'm sorry, Kazran. I can't save her." He told him gently. "We could take her back up there, but she'd never survive the trip. We need a fully functioning life-support."

Kazran looked up at him. "You mean like and icebox? Okay." He told us, standing up and heading back inside.

"I'll stay here, keep the big bad fishy company." I told him, not really feeling up to running through the house to find an icebox.

"Okay, I'll let you know what happens. And you let me know if anything happens." He said, kissing my cheek before going off after Kazran.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to start shouting in my head. _"I need the number!" _

I let out a sigh, he could never be specific. _"Sure, number for what?"_ I asked him as I walked over to the TARDIS. Something was telling me I needed to take a trip somewhere.

"_For the door. It needs a code if we're going to get in there and get the icebox."_

I pulled the lever and opened to door to hear the old Kazran shouting at the screen. " Seven two five eight." He cried.

"Just what I was after. Thank you." I called to him, closing the door and heading back to the Doctor. _"Seven two five eight."_

"_Thank you."_ The Doctor said, as I started dashing around the console. "_Oh, there's fish down here too."_ He showed me what he was seeing, and I heard the young Kazran tell him that the house was built on a fog lake. I saw the pair stop in front of an icebox.

"_Wait, isn't she the woman we saw before?"_ I called to him, recognising the woman in the box.

"_Yeah. And apparently, she loves the fish."_

Suddenly, I got a very bad feeling. I landed the TARDIS and bolted out of it, charging to the Doctor and Kazran. Both of them saw the panicked look on my face.

"What's wrong?" Kazran asked, as the Doctor and I both looked at half a sonic screwdriver.

"Just his half of the screwdriver trying to repair itself. It's signalling the other half." I told the boy, looking cautiously around the room. I could hear the beep coming from the half that was in the shark, and that was not a good thing.

"The other half's inside the shark." He reminded us.

"Yeah. Sound's like she's woken up." The Doctor told him. "Okay, so it's homing on the screwdriver."

"Which means…" I turned around and the shark came rushing towards us. I grabbed Kazran's hand and we both ran, along the rows of frozen people, trying to find a safe place to hide. I hushed the boy, sensing how scared he was. "It's okay, Kazran. Just keep calm." I told him, keeping him close to me.

"_Star? Where are you? Where's Kazran?"_ The Doctor asked me in a panic.

"_I'm okay, Kazran is with me. You alright?"_ I asked him, knowing that he had fallen down and knocked over several of the iceboxes.

"_I'll live. Where's the shark?"_

I didn't get the chance to answer him, as I started to hear someone singing. I held Kazran behind me as we crept out of our hiding place and to find the source of the singing. The icebox we had been looking at was now open, and as we pressed forward we saw the woman from inside it, singing to the shark. Her singing was calming it.

"It's not really the singing, of course." The Doctor said, coming and standing beside us, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Yes, it is." The boy told him firmly. I couldn't help but smirk at the Doctor, Kazran was a rather brilliant child. So the Doctor decided to protest and tell the boy it wasn't, but Kazran was not backing down. "The fish love the singing. It's true."

"Nah, the notes resonate in the ice crystals, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog." He told him. I just shook my head at him when he let out a yelp. "Ow. A fish bit me." He moaned.

"Shut up, then." I let a little laugh out at the way Kazran had spoken to him. It made me wonder, what could have happened to turn this boy into the old man we had met.

"Of course. That's how the machine controls the cloud belt." It had finally dawned on him. Although I had worked it out when I had been in the TARDIS, I knew he would get there eventually. "The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate the crystals at exactly the right frequency, you could align them into…Ow." He cried again. "Why do they keep biting me?"

"Look, the fish like the singing, okay? Now shut up." Kazran growled at him.

Once the woman had finished her singing, the shark was calm enough to get into the icebox. And it wasn't long before we were hauling it into the TARDIS.

"It's bigger on the inside." Kazran exclaimed as he peeked through the doors.

"Yeah, it's the colour. Really knocks back the walls." The Doctor told him, finally ready with the shark. "Shark in a box, to go."

After a lot of struggling, and moaning from the Doctor, we finally did manage to get the icebox with one rather heavy shark inside of it, into the TARDIS.

"This is amazing." The woman, who we now knew to be Abigail Pettigrew.

"Nah, this is transport." I told her, stepping from the console and over towards the doors. "We keep amazing out here." I threw the doors open and we were in the clouds, fish swimming all around us. I knew that both Abigail and Kazran were amazed.

"Come on, then. Let's get this shark out." The Doctor called, tapping in the code on the icebox and defrosting the shark.

"Hey, look at her go." Young Kazran cried as the huge fish swam passed us and out into the sky.

"Abigail, this number. What does it mean?" I stepped over to where the Doctor was looking at a number on the front of the cryochamber. When I looked down I saw the dials on there reading 000 008. Something about it didn't seem right.

"It pertains to me, sir, not the fish." She told him as she came over to where we were standing.

"Yeah, but how?" I asked her, trying to work it out myself.

She just smiled at me softly before her eyes fell back onto the Doctor. "You are a doctor, you say? Are you one of mine?" She asked him.

"Do you need a doctor?" Before she could answer, there was a ding form the console and he immediately forgot about their conversation and ran up to the console. "Ah, sorry. Time's up kids."

"Why?" Kazran moaned, in a way only a child could.

"It's nearly Christmas Day." I told him, making his eyes light up a little. But I knew there was still something wrong, I could tell by the look on his face. "Well, if you're going to be all miserable, I won't give you your present." I called back as I headed up to where the Doctor was. Kazran perked up a little, just like I knew he would.

We managed to get the cryochamber back into the vault, and Abigail was ready to be frozen again. "If you should ever wish to visit again." She said, a smile on her face.

"Well, you know, if we're ever in the neighbourhood." The Doctor said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me towards him. For some reason, I was finding it a little too cold in that vault, and I had no built up energy to help me either.

"They come every Christmas Eve." Kazran suddenly declared, taking both the Doctor and I by surprise. All the Doctor could do was question him. "Yeah, they do. Every time. They promise." He pressed.

"No, I don't." The Doctor said, as the door shut and Abigail went back into her frozen sleep.

"Hmm, something tells me we're going to be babysitting you again next Christmas, Kazran." I said, pushing my back further into the Doctor's chest. There was a huge grin on the boy's face, and I knew what was going to happen next.

A little while later, we were standing back in front of Abigail's cryochamber, Kazran at our side. "Merry Christmas!" We called, as the door open and Abigail smiled at us.

"Doctor, Summer. What are we going to do?" She asked.

"The Doctor's got a great plan. Wait till you hear it. Summer said it wasn't a good idea, but the Doctor managed to convince her." Kazran told her excitedly as we all left the vault together.

"You are out of your mind. This will never work." Abigail exclaimed, looking at the carriage with no horse.

"You know, I tell him that every day, and does he listen? Oh, no. Of course not. And who always has to clean up after his mess?" I grumbled. When we had gone back to the TARDIS I had grabbed a coat, but I was still feeling cold.

We watched as the Doctor pointed his half a sonic screwdriver into the sky. "Oh, don't think shark, think dolphin. And Summer, I do listen to you." He told me. _"I know you're worried, but there is no need to be."_ The Doctor called to me.

"_Let's see, a shark that swims in the fog, a carriage, and a child. I have every reason to worry."_ I snapped at him.

"A shark isn't a dolphin." Abigail commented.

"It's nearly a dolphin." The Doctor told her, keeping his attention on the screwdriver part in his hand.

"No, it isn't." I mumble to him.

"That's where you're wrong… because…" He looked over at me and gave me his best smile. "Shut up." I just rolled my eyes at him.

"It could be anywhere. Will it really come?" Kazran asked. He had noticed there was a little tension between the Doctor and I, he had told me a few jokes to try and cheer me up ever since he had seen us.

"No chance. Completely impossible." The Doctor told everyone, listening to the bleep coming from somewhere in the sky. "Except at Christmas."

Soon enough, the four of us were flying around in the sky, with a shark pulling the carriage. "How are we going to get back?" Kazran called over the air that was rushing past us.

"I don't know."

"Do you have a plan?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor called again, before letting out a long laugh. I was holding onto him tightly. It wasn't that I was scared, it was more that I wasn't quite feeling too brilliant. Something was telling me that I had come down with a bit of a cold or something.

We dropped Abigail off, and headed back to the TARDIS after saying goodbye to Kazran. Then we went back, again and again.

"Merry Christmas!" The three of us called to Abigail as the door opened.

"Kazran." Abigail said, her eyes wide. He was no longer a child, he was a young man. I couldn't help but notice his nervousness as we headed into the TARDIS. "You've grown." She pointed out as the Doctor and I darted around the console.

"Yes." He said, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"And now you're blushing."

"I'm sorry." The young man hung his head as if ashamed of himself.

"That's okay." She assured him.

"So, Doctor, Summer, where this time?" Kazran asked us.

The Doctor just looked over at me and smiled. "Pick a Christmas Eve. I've got them all right here." He told the pair.

"Might I make a request?" Abigail asked, taking a step towards us.

"Of course you can, Abigail." I told her, plonking myself down in the chair. My energy seemed to be running out now, yet the Doctor was still ready to run around like crazy.

"This one." We nodded at her and all left the TARDIS as she led us through the streets and to the house her family lived in.

"Who are they?" Kazran asked, looking through the window. The family inside were preparing for Christmas, hanging decorations and all seeming so happy.

"Her family. The lady's her sister. We met her once, when she was older." The Doctor told him, keeping me as close to him as possible. He had noticed that something was wrong, and every time he tried to find out what it was, I just told him I was a little tired. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't completely the truth.

"Abigail's crying." The young man said, looking over at the woman.

"Yes."

"When girls are crying, are you supposed to talk to them?" Kazran asked, a little confused about what he should do.

"I have absolutely no idea." The Doctor replied, while I just rolled my eyes and nodded to the boy. We watched him as he walked over to her, to comfort her. "Shall we?" I nodded at him and we both went over to the door.

Once we explained to the family why we were there, I went over to the window and pulled open the curtains. "Come in." I cried at them, beckoning them to join us.

While Kazran helped with the decorations, Abigail talked with her sister. I was sat down with the Doctor as he tried, and failed to show the young boy in the house a card trick. I wasn't really paying any attention to anything until Abigail's sister spoke up.

"Well, then. Tomorrow's Christmas dinner is cancelled, as my sister refuses to attend." She announced, not sounding very happy at all.

"Isabella…"

"Instead, we'll have it tonight." A smile crept onto her face, as well as Abigail's.

The whole house was busy and full of laughter as dinner was prepared and set down on the table. "Three, two, one, pull!" The Doctor cried, pulling a cracker with the lad he had been showing card tricks to.

The boy saw a playing card inside of it. "How did you do that?" He asked in amazement.

"Your card, I believe?" There was a smug grin on the Doctor's face.

The boy looked at the card. "No." He told him simple.

"Oh, shut up." The Doctor said, causing me to roll my eyes.

I reached over to the Doctor's inside jacket pocket and pulled out a card. "No I think you'll find, this is your card." I showed it to the boy and saw his eyes widen.

"Yes!" He cried. "How did you do that?"

I just gave the boy a wink, not planning on telling him my secret. "Yes, how did you do that?" The Doctor asked me, frowning at me.

"A magician never reveals their secrets." I told him, trying to hide the grin on my face.

"Er, merry Christmas." Kazran called, holing up his metal cup.

"Merry Christmas!" Everyone cheered, knocking the cups together.

"Best Christmas Eve ever." Abigail said, as she hugged the Doctor and I back in the vault.

"Ah, till the next one." The Doctor said happily.

"I look forward to it. Now, I'd like to say good night to Kazran." I instantly got the message, but unfortunately, the Doctor didn't.

"Of course, yes. Well, on you go." He said. I elbowed him in the side, and gave him a look that told him we needed to leave. "Oh, oh. Yes. Right. Sorry. We'll… er… we'll go then. Good night." He said once again to Abigal. "Good luck. Night. Good night." The Doctor whispered to Kazran as we passed him.

I rolled my eyes and dragged him along with me. _"You are really and completely oblivious to the obvious sometimes."_ I moaned at him.

"_What? No I'm not."_

"Doctor, Summer, I… er … I think she's going to kiss me." Kazran said, catching up with us.

"Yeah, I think you're right." The Doctor said, looking past the man and at the woman waiting for him.

"I've never kissed anyone before. What do I do?"

"Well, try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky." The Doctor told him, putting an arm over his shoulder, trying to give him some advice.

"Why?"

"Because you're going to be like that anyway. Might as well make it part of the plan, then it'll feel on purpose. Off you go, then." The Doctor told him, pushing him away a little.

"What, now? I kiss her now?" It was amazing how much he had grown up. But even when he was a child, it was clear to see that he cared about Abigail, like there was something drawing them together.

"Kazran, trust me. It's this or go to your room and design an new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes." He told him, grabbing hold of me and kissing the top of my head. "Now, go."

We watched him go before heading into the TARDIS. "So, that's what you were up to, was it? I always wondered." I told him, thinking back to something that had happened back on Gallifrey.

"Yes, and I've regretted it ever since." He told me, pulling me even closer to him. "You've got a fever." He pointed out as he felt the heat coming from me.

"I know." I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen next.

"How long have you had it?" He asked me, putting a hand against my head.

I knew I had to be honest with him, he could always tell when I was lying. "Since a few Christmas Eve's back."

He frowned at me, clearly not happy with how long I had been waling around with a fever for. "And you didn't tell me this because?" I shrugged my shoulders at him. "Right, come on. You need to get to bed. I'll take care of the next Christmas Eve, you need to get some rest." He said, dragging me along the corridor and to my or our room. The Doctor seemed to spend more time in my room now than he did his own.

"Where are you going to take them?" I asked as I threw myself onto the bed.

"I was thinking Hollywood, 1952."

I nodded at him. "Good year, watch out for Marilyn. You won't have me there to protect you from that woman." I warned him.

He laughed softly at me before kissing the top of my head and pulling the covers over me. "I'll see you in a bit, yeah? Get some rest."

I fell asleep almost instantly, and only woke up when the TARDIS told me the Doctor was back. I wasn't feeling brilliant, but I felt a little better than I had done. I dragged myself through the TARDIS and reached the door just in time to hear Kazran speaking with the Doctor.

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it? I've got some work with my dad now. I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control." He told the Doctor.

"Sorry, I didn't realise I was boring you." I knew that the Doctor felt genuinely hurt, but I couldn't help but feel there was more to what the young man was saying. Something just didn't seem right.

"Not your fault. Times change."

"Not as much as I'd hoped." The Doctor told him sadly. "I'll be needed a new one, anyone. What the hell." He held out his half a screwdriver and gave it to Kazran. "Merry Christmas. And if you ever need me, or Summer, just activate it. We'll hear you."

"I won't need you." Kazran said firmly. I was sure I could hear hurt in his voice as well.

"What's happened? What are you not telling me? What about Abigail?" The Doctor asked, knowing that the pair had grown close.

"I know where to find her."

"Yeah."

Kazran let out a sigh. "Say goodbye to Summer for me." The Doctor nodded at him and came back into the TARDIS.

"Something happened. That wasn't the Kazran we have been taking out every Christmas Eve. Something has definitely happened." I told him, taking him by surprise, as he didn't even know I was awake.

"What are you even doing out of bed?" He said as he marched towards me. "You've still got a fever." I was informed, after he pressed his hand against my head.

"Never mind me, think about the crashing spaceship. I think it's time for the Ghost of Christmas Present."

The Doctor just smiled at me. "Then we need Amy to help."

It wasn't an easy plan, but it was the best we had, as we watched on the monitor from the TARDIS while Amy showed the old man that was Kazran exactly what was happening on the ship he was willing to let crash.

"This isn't going to work." I said, letting out as sigh. Even after seeing everything that was happening on the ship, how the people were singing for their lives, he still didn't care. "Future?" I asked him, moving slowly around the console.

We had heard how Abigail had been ill when she had been frozen, how it had helped her slightly. The problem now was that she had used up all of her time. The next time she left that box would be her last. That would be the day that she died.

We made a quick trip in the TARDIS, still listening to Amy and watching what was happening.

"_Everybody has to die."_ The old Kazran told her.

"_Not tonight."_ Amy had asked him, pleaded with him, and he still wouldn't help.

"_Tonight's as good as any other. How do you choose?"_ Kazran asked her.

"_Doctor? Summer?"_ Amy called to us.

"Yeah?" I called back to her, knowing the Doctor was busy.

"_Are you hearing this?"_

I let out a sigh as the TARDIS landed. "We can hear." We stepped out of the TARDIS and into the vault where Kazran was standing.

His hologram faded from the ship and his attention was brought back to where we were. "Doctor, Summer." He spat when he saw us.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise." The Doctor told him honestly, feeling bad about what had happened with Abigail.

"All my life I've been called heartless. My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me."

"Better a broken heart than no heart at all." The Doctor told him softly.

"Oh, try it. You try it." He spat at us.

"We have, Kazran. For centuries the Doctor thought I was dead. We've lost everything. Our family, our home, all we have left is each other. We do know, Kazran, believe me, we know what it's like." I told him, holding back my emotions as I thought back on everything we had lost, the losses that I still hadn't told the Doctor about.

"Why are you here?" He asked, a little more calmly.

"Because we're not finished with you yet. You've seen the past, the present, and now you need to see the future." The Doctor told him, kissing my temple as he felt my emotions surge a little.

"Fine. Do it. Show me. I'll die cold, alone and afraid. Of course I will. We all do. What difference does showing me make? Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? It's not a plan. I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care. I'm not like the pair of you. I don't even want to be like you. I don't and never, ever will care."

"And I don't believe that, Kazran." Told him.

"Then show me the future. Prove me wrong." He answered, looking me straight in the eyes.

"We are showing you. We're showing it to you right now. So what do you think? Is this who you want to become, Kazran?" The Doctor asked, looking past the old man and at young boy who had stepped out of his hiding place and into our line of sight.

The old man turned around to see his younger self standing there, watching him in horror. "Dad?" The boy said. It was plain to see he was scared.

The Doctor and I watched as they stepped closer to each other, and I flinched when the old man threw his cane away and raised his hand, just like he did with the child when we had first met him. But he stopped, and instead hugged the boy, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It's okay, don't be frightened. I'm… I'm so, so, so…" The old Kazran cried, holding onto the boy.

"Kazran, we don't have much time." The doctor reminded him.

"Hello? Hello? Ah, hello everyone. Prepare to lock onto my signal." The Doctor said, sitting at the control desk in the main room.

"_Doctor, what's happening?"_ Amy asked.

I pushed him aside a little so that I could speak with my friend. "He just saved Christmas of course. Don't go away!" I shouted before the screen went blank.

"We good to go, then?" The Doctor asked, hyped up and ready to save the day.

"The controls, they won't respond." Kazran told us in a bit of a panic.

"Of course they will. They're isomorphic. They're turned into your brainwaves. They'll only respond to you." The Doctor reminded him. I had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

"They won't respond." Kazran cried, trying over and over again to get them to work.

"That doesn't make sense. That's ridiculous. Why wouldn't… Oh. Oh, of course. Stupid, stupid Doctor." He said, realising the same thing I had just worked out.

"What's wrong? Tell me, what is it?" Kazran asked us.

"It's you. We've changed you too much. The machine doesn't recognise you." I told him gently. I knew that there was only one way out of all this now, and it wasn't going to be nice, for anyone.

"But my father programmed it." The old man protested.

"No, your father would never have programmed it for the man you are now." I told him, resting a hand on his arm. _"Theta, I have an idea. But it's a long shot, and I don't think Kazran is going to like it."_

"Then what do we do?" The Doctor ignored Kazran and just looked at me.

"There must be something?" The young Kazran asked.

"This." The old man said, pulling out half of a sonic screwdriver, the one the Doctor had given him. "You can use this. I kept it, see?"

"What, half a screwdriver? With the other half up in the sky in a big old shark, right in the heart of the cloud layer." The Doctor rambled.

"Yes, and if we use the aerial to boost the signal, set up a resonation pattern between the two halves." I told him, knowing exactly how we could do this still.

"Ooh, come on, that would work. My screwdriver, coolest bit of kit on this planet. Coolest two bits. It could do it." The Doctor said beaming away at me.

The old man just looked at us in confusion. "Do what?"

"Well, his screwdriver is still trying to repair. It's signalling itself. We use the signal, but we send something else." I told him, knowing that he worse was still to come.

"Send what?" The young boy asked.

The Doctor just looked at me with a sad expression on his face, all I could do was nod back at him, confirming what needed to be done. "Well, what? What?" Old Kazran asked us.

"We're sorry, Kazran, we truly are." I knew that my words weren't going to help much, but I still had to say them.

"I don't understand."

The Doctor let out a sigh and looked at the man. "We need to transmit something into the cloud belt. Something we know works. We need her to sing."

I took the piece of screwdriver from Kazran and began to pull wires out from the machine in front of me. "Well, what are you lads waiting for? Go, I'll get this ready." I told them. The Doctor nodded at me and ran back to the vault with both Kazran's.

When they came back with Abigail, I had everything ready. The screwdriver had been turned into something of a microphone and was connected up. All we needed now, was for Abigail to sing. And she did, and it was beautiful.

"Well?" Kazran asked, as the Doctor double checked some of the wires.

"Well, the singing resonates in he crystals. It's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver. Now, one song, filling the sky. They crystals will align and I'll feed in a controlled phase loop, and the clouds will unlock." The Doctor told him.

"What does it mean, unlock? What happens when the cloud unlocks?" The young Kazran asked.

I turned and smiled at him. "Something that hasn't happened in this town for a very long time now. You're going to have one brilliant story to tell when you go back to school."

The old man never left Abigail's side as she sang, and the Doctor and I took young Kazran back to his own time.

"How you feeling?" The Doctor asked me, as we headed back to pick up Amy and Rory.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "I've been better. Wouldn't mind a nice hot bath and a good nights sleep."

"Go on then. I'll go pick up the Pond's, while you, my beautiful Star, can go and relax." He said, kissing my gently on the head.

I smiled at him. "Okay, but no dropping them off until I have at least had the chance to say hello to them." I warned him as I made my way up the steps. He smiled back at me, before dashing around the console.

I wasn't sure how long I was in the bath for, but I knew that the Pond's were back with us. I quickly got out and got dressed. I made it to the console room just in time to see Rory answering the phone.

"Your phone was ringing. Someone called Marilyn. Actually sounds like the Marilyn." Rory told me.

I walked over and smiled as I took the phone off him. "Marilyn, how many times do I have to tell you, the Doctor is never going to marry you." I listened to her whining at the other end. "No, he's got me. Now, goodbye." I said, hanging up the phone.

When I looked around, I found I was alone. Rory had gone outside to join Amy and the Doctor.

"Where are they? Kazran and Abigail?" I heard Amy ask.

"Off on a little trip, I should think." The Doctor replied.

"Where?"

"Christmas." I called, stepping out of the TARDIS. The Doctor immediately pulled me closer to him and kissed my cheek.

"Christmas?" Amy wondered.

The Doctor and I both smiled. "Yeah, Christmas." He said.

Amy and Rory went back inside the TARDIS. While the Doctor and I stood there, we both saw Kazran and Abigail, flying overhead. "Halfway out of the dark." I whispered, before dragging the Doctor inside.

* * *

**A/N: Well there you go, the end of seres 5, finally. I am so sorry for how long it has taken me, I have to get my backside in gear. **

**I was going to do the Sarah Jane Adventure episode, Death of the Doctor, but I've now changed my mind. There is a reason for it, while you will soon find out. **

**So, I have big plans for series 6. There is the whole River Song thing to get through, and what is going to happen the Idris is the TARDIS? And Summer comes clean about something to the Doctor, which could change everything. **

**Anyway, I'm going to leave you all guess. You know how much I like reviews, they really do make me smile. **

**Pippa.**


	31. The Nightmares Return

We were all sitting around in the kitchen. The Doctor was telling Amy and Rory some of the things we had been up to since we had dropped them off for their honeymoon. Only, there wasn't really that much to tell, since we had hardly left the TARDIS.

"Hey, you okay, Summer?" Amy asked me, looking at me with concern.

"I'm fine, just been feeling a little under the weather recently." I told her, trying to wave her off.

Only, the Doctor wasn't having any of it. He put his hand against my forehead once again and frowned at me. "Star, you still have a fever. You really need to go and get some rest." He told me, getting up from his chair and taking me with him.

I let out a sigh, and went a little light headed. "I expect my Pond's to hang around for a little while longer." I said, as the Doctor held me tightly to stop me from falling over. "Otherwise there is going to be big trouble. Understood?"

Amy and Rory both nodded at me as the Doctor began to drag me away. "Apart from fever, is there anything else you should be telling me?" He asked me, his arm tightly around my waist as he kept me up while we walked.

"Don't think so. Okay, slightly dizzy at the moment, but as you keep reminding me, I have a fever." I told him.

"Right, just take it easy. And let me know if you start to feel any worse. I'm worried about you." I knew how much he was worrying about me, I could feel it, I didn't need him to tell me.

"You'll know if something is wrong. I guess I've just been overdoing it a bit recently, I haven't really been sleeping too well." I admitted, before realising I hadn't actually told him that before.

His wide eyes bore into me. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

I gave him a weak smile a shrugged at him. "It didn't seem important. It's nothing to worry about, I promise you."

It took him a minute to accept what I had said, just as we arrived at the door with both my names on. "You know where I am if you need me." He said, kissing my forehead.

"Yeah, but don't worry, like I keep saying, I'll be fine." I tried to assure him again. "Now, I'm going to go and snuggle up in bed. When the Ponds have gone off to sleep as well, feel free to come in and cuddle up with me."

That brought a smile to his face, just like I knew it would. "Okay, sleep well, Star." He kissed the top of my head and waited for me to disappear into my room.

Once I had closed the door, it felt like all of the energy had just been sucked right out of me. I pulled off my clothes and grabbed the pyjamas that were folding and sitting on the bed. It was the pair with the blue swirls, the ones I was wearing when I came back to the TARDIS, back to what was now my home.

"_Thank you."_ I called to the ship, she had even warmed my pyjamas up, so they were rather cosy.

"_You're most welcome, my little Star. But you should have told him sooner that you weren't feeling well. All that running around in the cold has not helped you." _ Great, I was being told off by the TARDIS now.

I let out a sigh. _"I know, but we had bigger things to worry about. There were 4003 lives at stake, it wasn't a hard choice to make."_ I told her, knowing that she would understand why I didn't tell him while we were in the middle of a crisis.

"_You're always thinking of others, Star. Sometimes you need to think of yourself."_ She told me sternly. I felt like my mother was telling me off.

"_Yes ma'am."_ I replied, earning a slightly shaking room. _"Sorry. I'll behave now and go get some rest."_

"_I hope you sleep well, my little Star."_

I curled up in my bed, pulling the covers around me tightly, making sure there were no gaps that any cold air could sneak in through. Within minutes, I felt the warmth from the bed and covers slowly take me over, and I was soon fast asleep.

"_Mum, I'm home!" I called as the door slammed behind me. I had expected her to answer me, but the house was silent. "Mum?" I called again, with a little more concern. _

_A hand latched on to mind and I spun around to see my mother, her finger pressed against her lips. She led me up the stairs and into my bedroom. "Mum, what's going on?" I asked, fear running through me. _

"_He's home." I immediately tensed up. If he was home, then there was sure to be trouble, especially when he found out a few things. _

"_When did he get back? Has he said anything?" The look on my mothers face was a hard one to read. It gave nothing away. _

"_He came back this morning. He's in a bad mood. A deal went wrong and he lost a lot because of it. I want you to stay out of his way. I don't even want him to know that you're here." She told me. _

_I frowned at her. "Why? I'm not going to hide from him. I'm not a little kid anymore." _

"_Oh, sweetheart, he's heard about you and that Lord of yours. He is not happy about it at all." _

"_Well, it's going nothing to do with him, has it? It's my life." I told her, folding my arms in front of my chest. _

_My mother let out a sigh. "Sweetheart, you know how he feels about him. He's a renegade, and so in his books, he is an enemy." _

_I rolled my eyes, this was always what it came down to. "Just because Rassilon doesn't like him, doesn't mean he is a bad person. You've met him, you know what he stands for."_

"_I know, you know I like him. He has always been so good to you. But you know him downstairs won't see it that way."_

_I sat down on the edge of my bed in a huff. I was basically being grounded. I wasn't a kid anymore, I had graduated from the Academy, I had a decent and respectful job. Yet there I was, being treated like a child again. "Is he staying long?" _

"_I don't know, sweetheart. I hope not. But just keep out of his way. You know what he's like when his mood is this bad. I don't want you to get caught up in it." She told me gently._

"_I know, it's okay, mum. I'll keep out of his way."_

_I lay down on my bed as my mother went back downstairs. I was being kept prisoner in my own home thanks to him. Life was always so much better when he wasn't around. I had so much more freedom. Then, the moment he returned, I was trapped. _

_The next thing I knew, the room was dark and silent. Forgetting my mother's previous warning, I made my way down the stairs. Most of the house was dark, it looked like no one else was home. I let out a shaky breath, feeling that it would be safe. _

_The next thing I knew, a hand was tightly gripping the top of my arm. When I turned I was met with the icy blue eyes of my father. "Hi, dad." I squeaked. _

_If looks could kill, I would have used up all my regenerations in seconds and be dead on the floor by then with the way he was looking at me. "What are you doing in my house?" He spat at me. _

"_I'm… I'm visiting. Mother has been missing you so I come over and see her some times." I told her Nervously. _

"_You're a little liar." He growled. "I don't want you in my house. I've never wanted you in my house. You've given this family a bad name, you and that Lord of yours." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what was to come next. "The Doctor is a renegade, and you happily walk around with him. You let everyone see the pair of you together." _

"_He's my Bond, you know that. I'm not going to just leave him. I'm not going to walk away from him. He makes me feel safe, he looks after me." I hissed at him, not wanting my mother to hear our conversation. _

_My father sniggered. "He makes you feel safe does he? So where is he now, hmm? He isn't here to protect you now, is he?" _

"_I'm not scared of you." I told him, trying to fight back my fear. _

"_Oh, we'll see about that." He other hand came into contact with me face, hard. My ears starting ringing straight away from the force he had hit me with. _

"_This is why I'm not scared of you, you can hit me, punch me, and kick me as much as you want. But you are never going to stop me and him from being together." _

"_Once I'm finished with you, he won't want to be anywhere near you." That was when I knew it was serious, he wasn't just angry, he was furious. And I was going to be on the receiving end of one of the worst possible things he could do. _

I almost jumped out of the bed, tears streaming down my face. A dream, it was just a dream. It had been a long time since I had had a nightmare, in fact, I hadn't had one since I opened the watch. Everything had been fine, until now.

There was a gentle knocking at my door and it opened a creek. "Hey, you okay?" The Doctor asked me softly, taking a step into the room.

I tried to nod my head at him, but I ended up shaking it and more tears fell down my face. "I just had a bit of a bad dream, that's all." I whispered to him as he sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around me.

"What was it about?" He asked, rocking me back and forth a little, trying to get me to calm down.

"My dad."

That was all I needed to tell him. He had met my father, he knew what he was like. The amount of times I had told him about my father, the Doctor always ended up so angry with the man. I didn't blame him, I never liked my father either, and everything he done to me just made that feeling stronger.

"He's gone now, he can't hurt you anymore." The Doctor assured me.

"I know." I managed to whisper. "It was just… so real."

He let out a sigh. "Your fever probably hasn't helped." The Doctor checked my forehead again and frowned. "And it hasn't gotten any better."

"What are Amy and Rory up to? You haven't dropped them off yet have you?" I asked him, hoping that he really hadn't.

"Well…" He shifted uncomfortably. That just told me everything.

"Where did you take them?" I asked him, letting out a huff.

"Honeymoon planet. I'm sorry, I didn't want them just hanging around while your sick. I'd much rather be here and looking after you than having to keep an eye on the Ponds." The Doctor told me. I knew he was telling the truth, and I had no doubt that Amy was begging to go somewhere.

"It's fine. As long as when I'm better, we get to go and pick them up." I told him, lying down and making myself comfortable in my bed again. "Now, I'm going to try and get some more sleep. Sitting here talking isn't doing me any good. If you want something to do, go and tidy the kitchen. I have no doubt that you have left it in a complete mess."

The look on his face told me that I was spot on. "I'll be back in a bit." He said, lightly kissing my lips before heading out of the door.

I let out a yawn and pulled the covers back around myself. I knew I needed more sleep, I just felt completely drained of all my energy and that nightmare of my father had not helped me at all. All I could do was hope that I didn't have any more of them. Dreams, I could deal with, but nightmares with him in, that was not as easy.

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift again. Thinking too much was not going to help me sleep, stress and worry would only make it worse.

"_Now, you're going to be a very good boy today, aren't you?"_ _I said to the bundle in my arms. "There are lots of people wanting to see you, so you need to be on your best behaviour." I looked down and my eyes met the hazel ones of the baby boy that was wrapped up in my arms. _

_There was a smile on his face, he knew it was an important day, and he knew he needed to be as good as gold. The only other time he had been the centre of so much attention was the day he had been born. But, he hadn't exactly behaved too well that day, and some people had already formed a bad opinion of him. _

"_So, are you ready then, young man?" A gurgling sound came from his mouth, and his smile didn't fade. "Well, let's go and cheer everyone up with your gorgeous smile and adorable cheeks." His smile grew even wider, as did mine, as I got up from where I had been sitting with him. _

"_Remember, behave. Everyone is upset and but you're going to make them all happy again, aren't you? You're going to do this for you mummy and daddy." His smile faded a little, and for a moment I thought he was going to cry, but his sniffled a little before reaching his hand out. _

_I moved my own hand within reach of his and he gripped onto my baby finger tightly. "Everything will be fine, you'll see." I assured him as we walked through a high ceiling corridor and to the main hall where we could both hear people chattering away. _

"_Come on, little man, let's do this." He kept on giving me his cheek and adorable smile as I took a deep breath. _

_I pushed the door open and held the boy tightly in my arms. There were so many people wandering around the room, talking with different people. All of them seemed rather sombre, some of them were wearing false smiles. _

_I noticed my mother standing over by one of the windows. My father had disappeared again, something that we were both happy about. "I think she needs cheering up, don't you?" I whispered to the boy. He done what he always done when he agreed with me, he smiled and made silly noises. _

_We managed to sneak up to her without anyone bothering us. "Mother, I have someone here who wants to see you." I told her, taking her by surprise. _

_She looked down at the bundle in my arms and immediately her face softened and a smile crept across it. "Oh, look at him. Isn't he beautiful?" She said, taking a better look at him. _

"_Yeah, when he isn't screaming his lungs out in the middle of the night because he's bored." I told her, getting a rather annoyed look from the baby in my arms still. "Here, why don't you take him for a while?" I said, ready to pass her over. _

"_Oh, no. No, it's fine. He wants to stay with you." She started to laugh a little. "You're the only one he trusts not to drop him."_

_I pulled a face at the boy. "Is that all I'm good for, mister?" He poked his tongue out at me a little. "Well, no more stories and adventuress for you then." _

_His face suddenly dropped and the tears welled up in his eyes. "I think you may have upset him." My mother whispered to me. _

_I let out a sigh. He loved all the stories I told him, about a renegade Time Lord and his adventures through the whole of time and space. "Fine, I'll keep telling you the stories. But you have to remember, they aren't just any stories. One day, you're going to meet this renegade for yourself, then you can ask him all about them." _

_His eye lit up and the tears instantly vanished, a smile coming back onto his face. "You better go and take him to see everyone else now. They've all been asking about him. They were surprise that you didn't take him to the service." She reminded me. _

"_Mum, he didn't want to go. I wasn't going to force him, it was his choice." I told her, not wanting it to turn into an argument. _

"_I know, sweetheart, but you know what this lot are like. They all think he should have been there, regardless of what he wanted. You're the only one who listens to him." _

"_They need to realise that just because he is only a baby, it doesn't mean he can't think for himself. He's a lot smarter than most of the people here put together." My mother chuckled at my comment, knowing that it was true. "Come on, gorgeous. You've seen your second most favourite person in the whole universe, time to go and mingle with the rest." _

_We started making our way around the room. Everyone made a fuss over him, telling me how I was doing such a wonderful job with him. The older ones were the ones to complain about him not being at the service. I could tell by the look on his little face that he didn't care what they thought, he had a mind of his own. _

_Eventually the crowd started to thin out, and soon everyone had gone home. "You done really well today. I am very proud of you, Joneu." I told him as we made our way back home. "Now, if I tell you a story, will you go to sleep and let me get some too?" I asked him. _

_He gurgled and nodded at me, his eyes wide and shining brightly. I couldn't help but smile back at him. Having that boy in my life had changed everything. I no longer felt so alone all the time, and I had someone to look after, someone to live for. _

_Once we were home, I changed Joneu into something more comfortable for bed. He had never wanted to wear the black outfit I forced onto him, but he understood why he had to wear it. Once he was ready for bed, I quickly got myself changed and sat on the bed, the baby boy lying on my lap. _

"_Let's see, what amazing adventure can I tell you about tonight? Hmm, let me think." I pulled a face at him, making it look like I was thinking really hard about what to tell him. "Oh, I know." _

"_So, the Doctor was dashing around the console of his TARDIS. You do remember how he came into the possession of this TARDIS, don't you?" I asked him, receiving a little nod. "Good. He was feeling a little bit down and upset. He had to leave someone behind, someone very important to him." _

_There was a sad look on his face, it was a look that just reminded me of his father. "As he was deciding where to go, the engines started up, all by themselves. He frantically ran around, trying to stop it, to work out what was wrong. But he couldn't." I could see Joneu getting excited, this was always one of his favourite parts. He liked a bit of mystery with his adventures. _

"_So the Doctor ran round and round the console, pulling levers, whacking buttons, trying to do something. Then, something on the scanner caught his eye. He looked up and saw a message, a message for him from the person he had left behind. It told him that she missed him, and that she wanted him to come home." I looked down and saw the boy let out a yawn, although he was trying his hardest to conceal it. _

"_His hearts couldn't take it anymore. He was done with travelling the stars alone. His companions were long gone, they all leave in the end. He was going back for her, he was going to find her, and take her with him." I let out a sigh as I noticed he had now completely fallen asleep. It had been a long few days, and he had every right to be exhausted. _

"_Good night, little Joneu." I whispered to him, putting him in his cot and kissing the top of his head. _

_I pulled back the covers on my bed and made myself comfortable. I couldn't help but wonder why the universe had to be so cruel. Two of my best friends had just died, murdered by the Daleks. The only people I had left on Gallifrey, and now they were gone as well. At least I still had Joneu, the boy had reminded me of that every day. I had him, and he had me. _

_I woke up, hearing someone hammering at the door downstairs. I looked over at Joneu, he was still sound asleep, but there were tears streaking down his face. I quickly wiped them away before running down to see who was causing such a racket._

_My hearts stopped when I saw the man standing on the other side. "Lady Star, I have come for the boy." _

"_Like hell you have, Rassilon." I spat at him, going to slam the door only for it to be stopped by someone pushing it open again. _

"_You have been feeding him lies. Praising the Lord Doctor to him, telling him such fanciful stories." _

"_I've been telling him the truth. You can't take him, you have no right to take him." I said, holding onto the door and trying to stop him and his council members from pushing their way into the house. _

"_You forget who I am, Lady Star. I am the Lord President, I can do as I wish. You will hand the child over, or we shall take him by force." He told me, an evil smirk on his face. _

"_You're going to have to kill me then. I am never handing him over to you. Mayla's death left me as his guardian, her family agreed and accepted that, as did Kaine's. You will not touch him." I growled back, trying to keep myself under control. _

"_You, Lady Star, are not fit to look after a child. You have been poisoning his mind, for which you shall be punished." _

_I felt my energy flare and sent it towards Rassilon. It knocked the men who were with him out cold, but it didn't touch him at all. _

"_I am wise to your tricks, Lady Star." He said, sending a bolt of lighting at me. I didn't have enough time to react and it hit my full on in the chest, making me fly backwards into the house and away from the door. _

_I hit the wall and my head smashed against it hard. My vision blurred, I didn't know what was happening until I could hear Joneu crying and screaming. "No, leaving him alone. You can't do this. Please, don't take him away from me, he's all I have left. We need each other." I pleaded, trying to get to Rassilon and take the boy back form him. _

"_You will never see this child again, Lady Star. Let this be a lesson to you. Siding with the Doctor is dangerous. I suggest you think about that." He walked out of the door, slamming it closed behind it. The cries coming from the baby I had looked after since my best friends died became fainter. _

_I had failed them, I had failed myself, but most of all, I had failed Joneu. I had sword to look after him of anything ever happened to them, and I had failed. _

"Hey, come on. Star, wake up!" Someone shouted. "Star, stop."

I felt someone holding me down. "You can't take him! Please don't take him!" I screamed, hitting out at whoever was trying to hold onto me.

"Stop it, Star. It's me, come on, it's me."

"Don't take Joneu away from me, please. He's all I have." I cried.

"Sidra, calm down." My eyes flew open when I heard someone use that name.

When my eyes finally decided to focus, I saw the Doctor looming over me, pinning me down to the bed. There was blood on his face, coming from the scratches on his cheek. His face was just full of panic and fear.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled to him, before turning my face away and letting the tears fall.

"Hey, come on." The Doctor said, getting off me and pulling me towards him. "It's okay, it was only a nightmare. You're safe now." He tried to assure me.

"It wasn't a nightmare, it was real. It happened. They took Joneu away from me, and now he's dead." I cried, trying to pull myself away from the Doctor's hold.

"Hey, what are you talking about? Who's Joneu?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

"He was all I had left, and Rassilon took him away from me. He was a baby, he needed me, like I needed him." I sobbed, giving up my fight against the Doctor.

"Star, who's Joneu?" The Doctor asked me again, a little bit of panic in his voice now.

I let out a sigh and dug up the memory of Mayla and Kaine. I showed him their child, their baby boy called Joneu. One of the memories I had locked away, hidden from the Doctor, flowed through his mind.

He saw how I found out about their deaths, how I became Joneu's legal guardian. And then how he was snatched away from me by Rassilon. How I was told I was not fit to look after a child.

"Oh, Star. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The Doctor said, holding me tighter than before.

"I let them all down. I let them take him, I should have protected him. Rassilon was right, I was never fit to look after a child." I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"You done everything you could to protect him. You couldn't have stopped Rassilon. It was not your fault." The Doctor tried to assure me. "You were doing a wonderful job looking after him. How many people told you that?"

I found it hard to believe him, losing Joneu like that had hit me hard, and after that night I fell into the darkness for some time. Now it just reminded me of everything else I had ever lost. There was still so much to tell the Doctor, so many things he didn't know. But now, after reliving that, I didn't know if I ever could tell him about the other losses.

* * *

**A/N: Hands up if you thought the baby was going to be Star's and the Doctors? **

**This chapter may seem like just a filler, but it is actually really really important. And you will find out why later. Coming up next, series 6, yay!**

**Now, big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, it really does mean a lot to me. And a big thank you to all who have favourited/followed as well. You guys are just took awesome. **

**Pippe.**


	32. The Impossible Astronaut Pt1

"So, what are we going to do today then?" I asked the Doctor as we finally decided to get out of bed. We had picked the Ponds up, after there was a fiasco with the Shansheeth, involving one Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Grant, who was now Jo Jones.

While I had still been ill, the Shansheeth had stolen the TARDIS and faked the Doctor's death, with the help of someone from UNIT. When I found out, I was not happy. But I had slept through the whole thing.

Now the Ponds were back home, living a peaceful life, while the Doctor and I done some travelling together. We had been to so many places, saved so many people, and done a hell of a lot of running.

"No idea. Let's see where the old girl wants to take us, shall we?" The Doctor said, giving me a quick kiss before grabbing my hand and taking me with him as he walked towards the console room.

"I'm sure she is going to take us somewhere fun, and exciting. She always does." I told him, grinning away.

"_Well of course I do, my little Star. I couldn't let the pair of you get bored now, could I?"_ The TARDIS called in my head.

"_How could we ever get bored when we have you? Even when I was sick, you still managed to keep the Doctor entertained and showed him a few new rooms. He absolutely loved that circus you got for him." _I told her. The Doctor had told me all about how he had found a room, with a circus inside. He had his own person show, and he loved every second of it.

"_At least you are feeling better now, my little Star. We were both very worried about you."_ I knew just how much that was true. After the nightmares, I was too scared to sleep. She ended up having to help me, to block the nightmares, and I fell asleep for almost 3 days. The Doctor was in a right state. He didn't know what was wrong, and I wasn't awake to tell him.

But those 3 days of sleep seemed to be just what I needed, as when I woke up, I felt so much better.

We entered the console room and the lights suddenly came on. We hadn't been spending as much time in there recently as we used to, so she had been keeping the place on stand by.

While the Doctor started dashing around the console, I noticed a blue envelope sitting on the chair. _"Where did that come from?" _I asked the TARDIS, knowing that neither the Doctor nor I could have left it there.

"_Spoilers."_ She called back to me, making me let out a groan.

I picked it up and looked at it. It was a very similar blue to the TARDIS, and had the number one on it. I carefully opened it, and pulled out the card that was inside. "Um, Doctor, I think I know where we are heading off to." I told him, passing him the card with coordinates, time and a date on it.

"Where did you find that?" He asked, studying the card.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "It was on the seat. And she won't tell me how it got there."

"Well, come on then, let's go and find out who wants to see us." He said, kissing my forehead before darting around the console some more.

It wasn't long until we found ourselves in a diner, somewhere in America. "Utah, at a guess." I said, looking around the rather empty diner. "Look's like we're early. Come on, let's get a drink." I dragged him over to the counter we me and we both ordered ourselves a drink.

"Needs more fizz." The Doctor told me, before heading into the TARDIS. A moment later, his head popped around the door where the TARDIS was hidden. "Um, don't suppose you know where the straws are, do you?"

I rolled my eyes at him and got up from where I was sitting, tossing the envelope with the invitation inside onto the table as I did. "I bet you were looking with your eyes closed again." I mumbled, pushing him back inside. "Did you look in the kitchen?" I asked him as he looked around the console.

"No, why would I look in the kitchen? Why would it be in there?" He asked, completely shocked at my suggestion.

"Well, let me see. The last time you use it, we were in the kitchen. Therefore it makes sense that after it had been washed up, it would have been put away in the kitchen." I told him, rolling my eyes a little.

He charged up to me and kissed my head. "See, that's why you're brilliant." He told me, before running off to the kitchen.

"_I did put them away in the kitchen, right?"_ I asked the TARDIS, worried that he wouldn't find them.

"_Yes. I've left the draw open so that he can see them."_

I let a smile creep across my face. _"I dread to think of the mess he would make while trying to find them otherwise."_

"_I heard that!" _The Doctor shouted at me.

"_You know I love you, yeah?"_ I called back to him, trying to sound all innocent.

"_I know. I have them. And I love you too."_

A few minutes later he was back, and heading straight for the doors. I suddenly had a very bad feeling as I followed behind him and back into the restaurant. We both stopped when we saw a group of people, staring at us.

"This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold." River said, clearly in a state of shock.

"Or hello, as people used to say." The Doctor said, feeling just as confused as I was.

"Doctor? Summer?" Amy said, looking very upset for some reason.

"We just popped out to get our special straws. They add more fizz." He told her, still not understanding what was going on.

Amy slowly walked up to us circling us, making sure we were real. "You're okay. How can you be okay?" Amy asked him, almost crying.

"Hey, of course we're okay. We're always okay." The Doctor told her, hugging her tightly. "We're the King and Queen of okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title. Forget that title." He said, before letting go of Amy and rushing over to someone else. "Rory the Roman! That's a good title. Hello, Rory." He said as he hugged him as well.

I was quickly pulled into a hug by Amy. "Hey, what's the matter?" I asked her softly, still none the wiser as to what was going on. "Amy, what's happened?" I pressed, knowing that something was wrong. I saw a flash of something in my mind, the Doctor, being shot several times, my body lying beside him. I quickly pulled Amy back from me a little. "Amy, what happen?" I asked her again, a little more panicked than before.

She still didn't answer me as the Doctor moved on to River. "And Doctor Song. Oh, you bad, bad girl. What trouble have you got for us this time?" He asked her. She didn't answer him, she just slapped him hard across the face, which instantly made my face sting as well.

"Okay, I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet." The Doctor asked her, rubbing his cheek before looking over at me. "Star, you okay?"

I nodded at him. "Yeah, not as painful as the punch Rory gave you, but it still hurt. I take it I deserved that as well then, River?"

She looked a little nervous before turning back to the Doctor. "Yes, it is."

"Good. Looking forward to it." The Doctor said, coming and taking hold of my hand. _"You sure you're okay?"_

"_I'm not sure. I thought… well I though… oh, never mind. It was nothing."_ I told him, not exactly sure how to explain to him that I saw an image of him dying

"I don't understand. How can you be here?" Rory asked us both.

"We were invited. Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume." I told them taking the envelope from River and pulling the card out and showing it to them.

"Otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence." The Doctor told them, looking at me with concern.

"_I'm fine. Don't worry about it."_ I assured him.

"River, what's going on?" Amy asked, finally finding her voice again.

"Amy, ask him what age he is." The woman replied to her, watching both me and the Doctor.

"That's a bit personal." The Doctor retorted.

"Tell her. Tell her what age you are." River growled. Something was seriously wrong, and I just wished someone would tell us.

"He's nine hundred and nine." I told them, seeing that the Doctor wasn't going to.

"Yeah, but you said you were…" Amy started, only to be cut off by River.

"So where does that leave us, huh? Jim the fish? Have we done Jim the fish yet?" She asked us both.

The Doctor just looked at me. "Who's Jim the fish?"

Amy shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Yeah, you do." Rory told her, clearly trying not to give away too much.

"We don't!" The Doctor shouted. "What are we all doing here?" He asked them.

"We've been recruited." River told us. "Something to do with space 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware the third." She was nervous, and that wasn't like her at all.

"Recruited by who?" I was curious and worried, never a good thing for me. They were all acting strange, they all knew something more than they were telling us.

"Someone who trust the pair of you more than anybody else in the universe." River told us.

"And who's that?" I asked, trying to work it out for myself. I wasn't having much luck.

"Spoilers."

The Doctor had had enough and dragged me with him back to the TARDIS, everyone else following behind. "1969, that's an easy one! Funny how some years are easy." He called, running around the console. "Now, 1482, full of glitches."

"Hmm, I wonder who caused those." I said, sending him a grin.

"That was just as much your fault as it was mine." He told me, blushing a little. "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name, yeah? How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose."

I looked around and saw the Rory was the only one still standing up on the main platform of the console with us. "Rory, is everybody cross with us for some reason?" I asked him, going and standing next to him.

Before he answered, he grabbed hold of me and hugged me tightly. "I'll find out." He whispered, before disappearing down the stairs and underneath where the Doctor and I were standing.

"_Hey, Sexy, can you shed any light on what's going on? The Doctor is just getting more and more frustrated and me, well, I saw something earlier."_ I asked the amazing ship. I knew she would be listening in to their conversation.

"_What did you see?" _She asked me softly. I knew then that she knew something about what was going on.

"_The Doctor, being killed. Me laying dead beside him."_ I told her.

"_Everything will be fine, my little Star. Trust me."_

"I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one to stand around looking impressed!" The Doctor called down to the others, hanging over the side. "What's the point in having you all?" He asked, feeling very fed up.

I went over to him and forced his arms around me. "Calm down. I'm just as worried and concerned about all of this as you are, but without all the information, we can't do anything." I told him gently.

He let out a sigh. "I know, you're right. Why do you always have to be right?" He moaned, kissing the top of my head.

"Because we'd be in so much trouble if you were always right." I told him, making him groan at me a little. "Come on, you know it's true."

"Fine. What are we going to do then?" He asked me. I was slightly surprised by the fact the he was actually asking me what we were going to do, usually he would have decided for both of us.

"See what this lot have to say for themselves." I whispered, as the group came back up.

"Time isn't straight." The Doctor told them, letting me go and running around the console, again. "It's all bumpy wumpy."

"Wibbly wobbly." I called, making him grin at me a little.

"There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible." He told them. "The TARDIS can't resist them, like a moth to a flame. She loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, because that's space in the sixties, and Canton Everett Delaware the third, and this is where she's pointing." He stopped next to my by the scanner and Amy came over and looked.

"Washington D.C., April the eighth, 1969. She why haven't we landed?" She asked us both.

"Because that's not where we're going." I told her simply.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked, now standing with Amy and River.

"Home. Well, you two are." The Doctor said, pointing at Amy and Rory. "Off you pop and make babies. And you, Doctor Song, back to prison." He told them walking around the console, taking me with him once again. "And us? We're late for a biplane lesson in 1911. Or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes, one or the other."

He threw himself down in the chair, and took me with him, forcing me to sit in his lap. _"Very smooth."_ I told him, knowing exactly what he was trying to do.

Everyone just looked at us as the slowly made their way around the console to where we were sitting. "What? A mysterious summons. You think we're just going to go?" I asked them. "Who sent those messages? Now, the Doctor and I both know that you know. We can see it in your faces." I looked straight at Amy. It was when I was hugging her that I had that… vision.

"Don't play games we me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that." The Doctor warned them, sensing that I was getting more than a little annoyed now.

"You're going to have to trust us this time." River told us, making me jump to my feet.

"Trust you? Sure. But first of all, Doctor Song, just one thing. Who are you? You're someone from our future, getting that. But who?" She didn't answer me, she just kept on looking at me. I remembered what she had told me, the thing that I had told her, but I hadn't told her that yet.

"Why are you in prison?" The Doctor asked, as he stood beside me and wrapped an arm around me. "Who did you kill, hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me. That's why I have my Star. But trust you? Seriously."

"Trust me." Amy called, getting both of our attention.

"Okay." The Doctor and I said at the same time as we walked over to her.

"You have to do this, and you can't ask why."

"Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?" The Doctor asked her, just knowing that something was wrong.

"No."

"You're lying." I told her, seeing right through her. She knew exactly what was going on, and yet she wasn't telling us.

"I'm not lying."

"Swear to us. Swear to us on something that matters." The Doctor said to her, holding me tightly.

"Fish fingers and custard." Amy said to him, before turning to look at me.

I just smiled at her, knowing that whatever she wanted to swear on to me, she didn't want to speak it out loud. "Our life in your hands, Amelia Pond."

"So, Canton Everett Delaware the third. Who's he?" The Doctor asked, charging back over to the console and typing away at the database, trying to find as much information about him as he could.

"Ex FBI. Got kicked out." River told us, reading it from the scanner.

"Why?" I asked her, but she didn't have the answer to give me.

"Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting." She continued.

"Yeah, 1969. Who's the President?" The Doctor asked, looking over my shoulder as he held me against him.

"Richard Milhous Nixon. Vietnam, Watergate. There's some good stuff too." She told us, seeing the disgusted look on my face and also the Doctor's.

"Not enough." I mumbled.

"Hippie." River called me.

"Archaeologist." I retorted, rolling my eyes at her.

The Doctor just kissed the top of my head in reassurance. I wasn't happy that people were keeping secrets from us, people who were supposed to be our friends. "Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into this time, for once I'm being discreet. I'm putting the engines on silent." He told everyone, pulling a lever.

A screeching noise filled the air before I quickly pulled another lever, making everything go silent. "Did you do something?" The Doctor asked me, looking at me suspiciously.

"Nope. I'm just watching." I told him, holding my hands up in front of me.

"Putting the outer shield on invisible. I haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power." He said, making the light in the room unbearable.

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked him. The Doctor just let out a laugh, while I moved over to another lever.

"Very nearly." I whispered to him, turning the lights back down and making the ship invisible.

"Er, did you touch something?" The Doctor asked, poking his head around.

"Course not." I told him, stepping up to him. "Just admiring your skills." I reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips to shut him up.

"Good, you might learn something." He said, looking at River as he said it. "Okay, now I can't check the scanner. It doesn't work when we're cloaked." I just rolled my eyes and looked over at River, who seemed to know what I was think as she nodded at me. "Just give us a mo." He said, making his way to the door.

Everyone followed behind us. "Whoa! You lot, wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow." I told them, getting them to back up a little.

"Exactly. So you're staying here." The Doctor told me.

"Aww, that's very sweet, but I'm really not." I told him, pushing him out of the door and gently closing it behind us.

"_Hello? Who is this? This is President Nixon. Who's calling? Is this you again?" _Nixon's voice came through a recording.

"_Mr President?"_ I couldn't help but think that was the voice of a child.

"_This is the President, yes."_

"_I'm scared, Mr President. I'm scared of the spaceman."_ The child on the recording said.

"A little girl?" One of the men in the room with the President asked.

"Boy."

"How can you be sure?"

"_What spaceman? Where are you phoning from? Where are you right now? Who are you?"_ The recorded voice of the President asked the child.

I noticed the Doctor pull out his little black notepad and started to write everything down.

"_Jefferson Adams Hamilton."_ The Child answered.

I frowned. I could have sworn that was the voice of a little girl. Something didn't seem to make sense.

"_Jefferson, listen to me…"_ The President said, before the call was cut off.

"Surely this is something the Bureau could handle, sir." The other man in the room asked Nixon.

"These calls happen wherever I am. How do I know the Bureau isn't involved? I can't trust anyone." My eyes widened as President Nixon turned around and saw the Doctor and I standing there.

The man who had been sitting at the desk, listening to the phone call quickly stood up. I elbowed the Doctor in the side to get his attention.

"Oh. Hello. Bad moment. Oh look, this is the Oval Office. I was looking for the, er, oblong room. We'll just be off then, shall we…" The Doctor said, backing away to the TARDIS, but the President had already hit the alarm.

"_Idiot."_ I mumbled to the Doctor, resulting in him rolling his eyes at me. Then he walked into the TARDIS and smacked his head against it, causing me to stumble back from the pain and shock of it. "Idiot." I said out loud.

"Don't worry. It always does that when it's cloaked." The Doctor said, before the man wrestled him to the ground. "Ah, no. Stop that."

I just stood there, holding my hands up in surrender, not even thinking about trying to move. That was when what I could only assume was the secret service charged into the room, shouting for a lockdown.

"Stop that! Argh!" The Doctor cried as more men helped to hold him down. I had just one man hold my arms behind my back. I seemed less of a threat than the Doctor did. "River, have you got my scanner working yet?" He cried.

"Get the President out of here. Sir, you have to go with them now." One of the security guards told him.

"River, make her blue again." The Doctor called from the ground.

Suddenly, the TARDIS was visible again, and took the attention of everyone in the room. The Doctor managed to escape from his captors, grab my hand, and sat himself down in the chair behind the President's desk.

"What the hell is that?" Nixon asked, staring at the blue box that suddenly appeared in his office.

"Mr President, that child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening. Never mind, thought, because the answer's yes. We'll take the case." He said, sitting there comfortable with guns aimed at us while I just stood beside him, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Fellows, the guns, really? We just walked into the highest security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug. Do you think you can just shoot us?" The Doctor asked them in amusement.

"They're Americans." River shouted, charging out of the box.

"Don't shoot. Definitely no shooting." The Doctor cried, seeing them aiming for River.

"Nobody shoot us either. Very much not in the need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up." Rory said, as both he and Amy came out as well.

"Who the hell are you?" President Nixon asked us all.

"Sir, you need to stay back." Spoke the man who had been in the room the whole time.

"But who are they and what is that box?"

"It's a police box." I told him slowly.

The Doctor just smiled at me. "Can't you read? We're your new undercover agents on loan from Scotland Yard. Code named the Doctor and Star. These are our top operatives, the Legs, the Nose…

"And Mrs Robinson." I said, looking at River with a grin on my face.

"I hate you." She told me, trying not to smile.

"No, you don't." I told her, keeping the grin plastered on my face.

"Who are you?" Nixon asked again.

"Nah, boring question. Who's phoning you? That's interesting. Because Canton Three is right. That was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from." The Doctor told him.

"Where?" Canton, the man who had been listening to the phone call asked.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr Delaware." One of the security men said.

"You heard everything we heard. It's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain. On the other hand, lay a finger on me or my friends, and you'll never, ever know." The Doctor warned them.

"How did you get it in here? I mean, you didn't carry it in." Canton asked, seemingly very impressed wit the way we had snuck the TARDIS into the room.

"Clever, eh?" I said, waiting for someone to answer the Doctor.

"Love it."

"Do not compliment the intruder."

"Five minutes?" Canton asked, holding up his hand, checking that was all the time we needed.

I shrugged at him. "Just five."

"Mr President, that man is a clear and present danger to…"

Canton cut of the security officer. "Mr President, that man and woman walked in here with a big blue box and three of their friends inside, and that's the man they walked past." He pointed to the officer who wouldn't shut up. "One of them's worth listening to. I say we give them five minutes. See if he delivers."

"Thanks, Canton." The Doctor breathed, feeling a little more relaxed.

"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself."

The Doctor's face fell a little. "Not so thanks.'

"Sir, I cannot recommend…"

"Shut up, Peterson." The President yelled to the man. "Alright, five minutes."

"I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilise. Street level maps covering all of Florida. A pot of coffee, twelve Jammie Dodgers and a fez." The Doctor rambled.

"No. You are not getting another fez. You do not need a SWAT team and you don't drink coffee." I reminded him.

I saw a grin on Canton's face. "Get him his maps." He told the officers.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I'm actually really looking forward to posting this series. It's going to be an emotional one, especially for the Doctor and Summer. **

**Big thank you to everyone who has review, you guys are just awesome. And a thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited. Those little emails really do make me smile. So remember to keep on reviewing, or PM if you want. I'm happy with that. **

**Enjoy your weekend!**

**Pippa.**


	33. The Impossible Astronaut Pt2

A while later, the Doctor had maps spread out all across the desk, and pretty much everywhere else.

"Why Florida?" Canton asked him as he watched over his shoulder.

"That's where NASA is. She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen live. Also, there's another lead I'm following." The Doctor answered, looking over at Amy. _"See if you can get anything from Amy."_ I nodded at him and walked over to where she was standing, having just had a short conversation with River.

"You alright, Amy?" I asked her, gently touching her arm.

"I remember…" Amy mumbled, looking at the open door. I followed her gaze and saw this, creature, in a black suit standing in the corridor.

"Amy? What do you remember?" Rory asked, coming and standing in front of her.

Both of us looked at him. "I don't know. I just…" When we looked back, there was nothing there. But we could have sworn there had been something there only moments ago.

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory asked again, before River joined in and asked her as well.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked her as he came past, picking up some more maps.

"Yeah. No, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little sick. Excuse me, is there a toilet or something?" Amy asked, clutching her stomach. She wasn't the only one who was feeling sick.

"Sorry, ma'am, while this procedure's on going, you must remain within the Oval Office." One of the security guards told her.

For some reason, I had come over with the feeling I was going to be sick as well. Only it was a lot stronger and I could feel my stomach churning. "Someone pass me a bucket." I said, bending over and putting my hand over my mouth tightly.

The Doctor was at my side in an instant. "Star, what's wrong?" He asked me, concern filling his voice. He had been able to sense that I was find one minute, and then ready to empty the contents of my stomach one seconds later. We both knew that wasn't right, we both knew that didn't just happen. There had to be a reason for me feeling so nauseous.

"_I really am going to be sick." _I warned him, feeling my stomach tighten even more from the churning.

Canton was looking over at both Amy and me. It was clear that I really was about to be sick. "Take them to the restroom." He ordered, glaring at the guard who refused to let Amy go.

"This way ma'am's." The guard said relucatantly, leading us out. Amy took hold of my arm as we went. I couldn't explain why I was suddenly feeling so sick, I just was. It was making my head hurt at the same time.

"Actually, I think we can manage this alone." Amy told the guard, as he tried to enter the toilets with us. "Hey, you okay?" Amy asked me as we walked in. I just nodded at her and ran into the nearest cubical and started throwing up. My whole body seemed to be shaking, and I couldn't control it.

After a few seconds, I heard Amy scream a little, but I was too preoccupied to really do anything. "I saw you before, at the lake. And here. But then I forgot you. How did I forget? What are you?" I heard her ask something.

The sound of a toilet flushing rang in my ears, making my head spin even more than it already was. "Get back. Stay back from it." I heard Amy call, as my stomach started turning some more.

"Oh, my God. What is that? Is that a mask? Is that a Star Trek thing? Ben, is that you?" I heard a woman say.

"Get back from it now." Amy called.

"Back form what, honey?"

"That."

"Oh, my God. Look at that. Is that a Star Trek mask? Ben, that's got to be you. Hang on, did I just sat all that?" The other woman asked, seeming a little confused. I had no idea what was going on out there, I was more concerned about why I was bring up the contents of my stomach.

"No. Please, you've got to stay back." There was fear and panic in Amy's voice, and I knew whatever was going on out there was bad, but I was in no condition to help anyone, and I hated it.

"Back, honey? Back form what?"

I felt my head spinning even more, and everything started to get a little blurry for a moment. It too me a few minutes to recover, and I heard Amy talking again.

"We can only remember you while we're seeing you, is that it?" She asked. I was about to get up and go out there, when I felt my stomach clenching again. "Why did you have to kill her?"

"Joy. Her name was Joy. Your name is Amelia. You will tell the Doctor." I had never heard that voice before. It was slightly unnerving.

"Tell him what?" Amy asked whoever it was she was speaking with.

"What he must know and what he must never know."

"How do you know about that?" Amy asked, clearly more than a little shocked.

"Tell him." It told her, before I heard her running out of the room.

"Great, thanks, Amy. Leave me in here all alone with something that I have no idea about." I mumbled, flushing the toilet as I stood back up. I wasn't feeling as sick, by my head was definitely still spinning.

I opened the door to the cubical and stopped. The same creature I had seen in the corridor was standing in front of me. I wanted to scream and run, but I found that I couldn't move. "What are you?" I managed to whisper.

The thing didn't answer me, it just kept on looking at me, and it scared me. I had lost the ability to move, and a creature I had no knowledge of was blocking my way.

The door suddenly opened and I looked over and saw Amy standing there." Hey, you feeling any better now?" She asked me softly.

I nodded at her as I washed my hands. "Yeah, guess I'm not completely over… whatever it was that made me ill while you guys were on honeymoon." I told her as I dried my hands. "How about you, you all better now?" I asked her. I couldn't help but think there was something wrong, that I had just missed something important.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's get back." She said, linking her arm through mine as we made our way back.

"You, sir, are a genius." Canton said to the Doctor as Amy and I came back into the room.

"It's a hobby." The Doctor told him, coming straight over to me. "You okay?" He asked, brushing some of my hair out of my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm still a little ill or something." I told him, trying to remember something I though I wanted to tell him.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit…" There was so much concern in his voice, and through our bond I could see just how worried he was. Ever since I had gotten ill, he had been even more protective of me. If I so much as sneezed in front of him, he would do a full scan to make sure everything was fine. It got a little annoying after a while, but I knew it was only because he cared. And for that, I was extremely grateful.

"I am fine. Stop worrying. I'm just trying to remember something, that's all." I told him. "Come on, spaceman and a little girl." I reminded him. That was when we heard the phone ringing in the background. We all looked at each other, wondering who it was going to be that was calling.

"Mr President, answer the phone." Canton told him.

"Hello. This is President Nixon."

"_It's here! The spaceman's here. It's going to get me. It's going to eat me!" _The little girl cried on the other end of the phone.

"There's no time for a SWAT team. Let's go. Mr President, tell her help's on the way. Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you." The Doctor called, dragging me into the TARDIS. The others were quickly behind, including Canton who closed the door as instructed.

"Jefferson isn't a girls name. It's not her name either." I said, running around the console with the Doctor.

"Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. River?" The Doctor said, looking at her, waiting for her to answer.

"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers." She called out.

"Lovely fellows. Two of them fancied me." The Doctor told her, acting a little big smug.

"Yeah, well all of them fancied me. Two of them even proposed." I told the Doctor with a grin, earning a frown from the Doctor. "Don't worry, I turned them down, of course." I gave him a kiss on the cheek as he past me.

"Are you okay? Coping?" Rory asked Canton, as he stood there, amazed by the box.

"You see, the President asked the child two questions. Where are you and who are you? She was answering where." The Doctor told everyone.

"It's bigger on the inside." Canton finally managed to say, making the Doctor smile. That was always his favourite part, and he would always get upset and grumpy of someone didn't say that, just like Rory had when he first stepped into the TARDIS.

"Yeah, you get used to it." Rory assured him, completely understanding how difficult it was to accept the fact that it was bigger on the inside.

"Now, where you would find three big, historical names in a row like that?" The Doctor asked.

"Where?"

"Here." The Doctor said as we landed. "Come on." He took hold of my hand and we both ran down from the console and towards the door. "Are you taking care of this?" The Doctor asked Rory, not stopping for an answer.

"Where are we?" Amy asked, looking around the dark office we were standing in.

"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Centre. It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't you think?" The Doctor asked as we both looked around. For some reason, he was not letting go of my hand.

"But why would a little girl be here?"

"I don't know. Lost me a bit. The President asked the girl where she was, and she did want any lost little girl would do." The Doctor told Amy.

"She looked out of the window." I said, going with the Doctor and looking at the street names outside.

"Streets. Of course, street names." Amy said, finally realising.

"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction." The Doctor said. I couldn't stop the smile from stretching across my face at that point.

"River, stop." I said, seeing her smirk and look between the Doctor and I.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"I remember that face, I've seen you do it before." I told her, recalling back when we were chasing the Byzantium, before I even knew who I was.

"Well, you think it's true." She told me, not letting the smirk she was wearing fade. If anything it was just growing bigger, because it was true. I did think the Doctor was hot when he showed off a little. But he already knew that.

"What is? What's true?" The Doctor asked, completely and utterly confused.

"Nothing." I told him, reaching up and kissing his cheek. That was always a good way to get him to shut up. But it made River smirk even more.

"We've moved. How… how can we have moved?" Canton asked, finally coming out of the TARDIS with Rory.

"You haven't even got to space travel yet?" I asked Rory, slightly disappointed with him, as the Doctor and I passed them.

"I was going to cover it with tine travel." Rory said, trying to defend himself a little.

"Time travel?" Canton questioned, still trying to take everything in.

"Brave heart, Canton. Come on." The Doctor said, leading me away with him. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked me when we were out of earshot of everyone else.

"Really, I'm fine. Felt a lot better after emptying my stomach." I told him.

"You're never sick." He told me, frowning at me. I knew that in his mind he was going through every single illness he could think of that would effect me, and then going through all the ones that would me make be sick like I was. I was only worried, and trying to work out why I was ill.

"I know. But like I said, I was pretty ill not so long ago. It is possible that I'm not fully over it." I told him, trying to calm him down. "Hey, I'm okay, honestly, I'm fine." He watched me for a few moments before finally accepting what I was telling him.

"It's a warehouse of some kind. Disused." River told us as she held out her computer and everyone shone their torches around the area as we walked.

"You realise this is almost certainly a trap, of course?" I called back to her, keeping close to the Doctor. Not that the Doctor was really giving me a choice, he had my hand in such a tight grip, I was worried he might break a few bones.

"I noticed the phone, yes." She replied, trying to act casual and not scare anyone.

"What about it?" Amy asked in confusion. She hadn't really been able to keep up, which I thought was really odd for her. Usually Amy was pretty good at keeping up with things, it tended to be Rory who needed things explaining.

"It was cut off. So how did the child phone from here?" River wondered.

"Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?" Amy had actually asked a really good question. But the truth to it was, there were many out there who would want to trap the Doctor and I. That much was evident when he was locked in the Pandorica.

"Dunno, let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards." The Doctor suggested. I noticed the panicked look on Amy and River's faces. I let out a sigh, they definitely knew something but didn't want to share it.

"Now, why would a little girl be here?" River asked as she looked around.

"I don't know. Let's find her and ask her." The Doctor said, as we came across a lot of different technology.

"It's non-terrestrial. Definitely alien. Probably not even from this time zone." River said as we approached what looked like some sort of operating table surrounded by machines and wires. It made me feel uneasy, it reminded me of what had happened back home, when the Doctor had left.

"Which is odd, because look at this!" The Doctor called, opening one of the crates and pulling out a spacesuit.

"It's Earth tech. It's contemporary." River noted, looking at it.

"It's very contemporary. Cutting edge. This is from the space programme." I told her, picking up the helmet from the crate.

"Stolen?"

Amy looked over in confusion, again. "What, by aliens?" She asked us.

"Apparently." I told her, passing the helmet to the Doctor, which he instantly put on.

"But why? I mean, if you can make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?" She wondered, watching the Doctor as well.

"Maybe because it's cooler? Look how cool this stuff is." The Doctor said, flipping up the visor on the helmet he was wearing. I couldn't help but smile at the way he was acting, like a little child.

"Cool aliens?"

"Well, what would you call him?" I asked, nodded at the Doctor.

"An alien." Amy said simply.

"Oi!" The Doctor and I both called at the same time as he took the helmet off.

"So, what am I then, Amelia Pond?" I asked her, putting my hands on my hips.

"My alien sister." She told me, acting innocent. I eyed her up for a moment before letting a smile take over my face.

"Good answer." I said to her.

"I… er… I think he's okay now." Rory said, coming over to us with Canton.

"Ah, back with us, Canton?" The Doctor asked him.

"I like your wheels."

"That's my boy." The Doctor said, patting him on the shoulder as we passed him. "So, come on. Little girl, let's find her."

I noticed that the others weren't following us, Amy and River were once again locked in conversation. "Doctor, they know something. Amy and River keep having these whispered conversations. And it's starting to really worry me." I told him, holding onto his arm tightly. "If I'm like a sister to her, why is she keeping secrets?"

"I don't know, Star. But I promise, we will find out."

"No, this is something big, something serious. I know it is, I can just feel it." I told him as we looked around the warehouse.

"Doctor? Star? Look at this." River called, making the Doctor drag me over to where she was crouched on the floor by an open manhole.

"So, where does that go?" I asked, seeing River looking at her computer.

"There's a network of tunnels running under here."

"Life signs?" The Doctor asked.

"No, nothing that's showing up."

I let out a sigh. "Those are the worse kind." I said, watching her climb down the ladder. "Be careful."

"Careful? I tried that once. Ever so dull." She told her, a smile on her face.

"Shout if you get in trouble." The Doctor called down to River.

"Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer. Now there's a spoiler for you." There was a smirk on River's face as she said that, disappearing at the bottom of the ladder and down the tunnel.

"Tell me, what's going on here." Canton asked, sneaking up on us.

"Er, nothing. She's just a friend. I've got Star." The Doctor blabbed, getting a little flustered.

"Not what he was talking about." I told the Doctor, glaring at him a little. I didn't see why he had to get flustered, there was nothing going on with River, even if we didn't really know who she was.

Rory noticed the sudden change in my attitude towards the Doctor. "I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion." He pointed out.

"Okay." The Doctor said, taking me away from everyone else. "I didn't mean anything by what I said."

"No, course not." I mumbled. For some reason, I was starting to feel really moody.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I told the Doctor, except it was clear that he didn't believe me. "I don't really feel all that great. I don't know why, I just haven't felt myself since back in the Oval Office."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" He asked, a little disappointed with me.

"Because it's not important. What is important is finding this little girl, and working out why everyone is keeping secrets from us." I told him firmly. It was the same way I had been when we were trying to change Kazran, and save the lives of not only Amy and Rory, but everyone else on that ship.

"All clear." River called as her head popped out of the hole in the ground. "Nothing down there I can see. Er, give me five minutes. I want to take another look around."

"Stupidly dangerous." The Doctor growled at her. I think the fact that I wasn't exactly too well was putting him even more on edge.

"Yeah, I like it too. Amy, look after them." She said, before disappearing again.

I let out a sigh. "Rory, would you mind going with her?" I asked, knowing the Doctor would not let me go.

"Yeah, a bit." He said, slightly annoyed that I had even asked him.

"Then we'd appreciate it all the more." The Doctor said, watching him go down after her.

"Hang on, River. I'm coming too." I could tell by Rory's tone that he really wasn't too pleased to be following her down there.

"_There's something really not right here. There's something we're missing."_ I told the Doctor as he rummaged through some more of the crates.

He looked at me, a frown upon his face. _"What do you mean?" _

"_I don't know. It's like… there's something else here, something that shouldn't be. But I have no idea what it is."_ I said, trying to conceal my worries from him. I couldn't really explain what it was, I was just getting the feeling that we were being watched, that something was waiting for us in the shadows.

"_You need to stop worrying so much, Star. Whatever it is, we will work it out, both of us. Everything will be fine, you'll see." _The Doctor said, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.

I let out a sigh and relaxed a little in his arms. _"I hope you're right." _

"Help me! Help! Help me!" It was the little girl, crying out from somewhere in the warehouse.

"That's her." Canton called, rushing off in the direction the voice came from with his gun in his hand. Although it was slightly hard to tell what direction it really was coming from, it seemed to echo everywhere.

As Amy started to run after him, she doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. "Amy?" I called in concern. Making my way over to her and helping her to stand up. The girl continued to call out in the background, and Canton disappeared to find her. "Amy, what's wrong?" I was more than just a little concerned for my friend.

"I need to tell you both something." She said, holding onto me tightly. "It's important."

"Doctor!" Canton called from somewhere.

"It's really, really important." Amy insisted, still seemingly in pain.

"Doctor, quickly!"

The Doctor looked towards where Canton had ran and then back at Amy. "What, now?" He asked her, not knowing what to do. We knew we needed to follow Canton, we needed to get to the little girl, but we were both worried about our red haired Scottish friend.

Before I could say anything, the Doctor was dragging both Amy and me in the direction Canton had gone off. "Canton! Canton, are you okay?" The Doctor cried, seeing the man sprawled out on the floor.

"Is he alright?" Amy asked, clutching her stomach still as the Doctor inspected the man.

"Just unconscious. Got a proper whack." The Doctor told us both, making sure Canton really was just unconscious.

"Doctor, Summer, I need to tell you something. I have to tell you it now." Amy said, urgency in her voice. It just made me worry more and more.

"Not a great moment." The Doctor told her, still kneeling on the ground beside the unconscious man.

"No, it's important. It has to be now." Amy pressed. There was fear on her face, something was scaring her, and I knew it was serious. Amy and I were like sisters, and if she said it was important, then it was important.

"Help! Help me! Help me!" The little girl cried again.

Amy just kneeled on the floor on the other side of Canton, forcing me to kneel beside her. "Doctor, Summer, I'm pregnant." That had been important, and that was something serious as well.

Instantly my mind went into over time, dragging up memories of my own that had been hidden away. The things that I didn't want the Doctor to know about, things I didn't want him to see. I shielded my mind completely as I stared at Amy.

The sound of heavy footsteps brought me back to reality, the Doctor looking at me in concern as I kept my thought fully protected. The three of us slowly stood up, and a figure walked towards us.

"That's it. The astronaut." Amy whispered, watching the approaching figure closely.

The astronaut raised and hand and pointed it towards the Doctor, I saw panic and fear flash across Amy's face. Slowly, the astronaut using its other hand and raised the visor, revealing the little girl that we had been searching for.

"Help me!" She cried from inside the suit. She was so scared, and there was something else about her, something familiar, but I just couldn't work it out. I could sense something about her, she was different, she wasn't a normal child.

"Get down!" Amy shouted, reaching down and grasping hold of Canton's gun tightly.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor cried, seeing her pick up the gun.

"Saving your lives." She called back, emotion thick in her voice as she spun around and aimed at the astronaut. She didn't even look at the child's face, before pulling the trigger and firing the gun.

"No!" The Doctor and I both screamed at the same time. I felt my skin burning, Amy wasn't the only one whose emotions were running high, mine were almost out of control. The pendant hanging around my neck was glowing brightly, threatening to burn my skin, as I stood there in shock. My eyes never left the face of the child trapped in the astronaut suit.

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**A/N: Oh me, oh my. Wherever shall this lead? There's more secrets that need to be told, but what are they?**

**So I've actually been enjoying writing this series so so far (I have a few episodes already tucked away ready to post). It is going to lead to more secrets and revelations, and not just who River is. **

**This story has actually gotten less reviews than my other Doctor Who one! And it's got less chapters. But I love all your reviews, they make me all warm and fuzzy inside (or was that just my breakfast?). So please, keep on letting me know what you think. **

**Virtual cookies to people who can guess one of her many secrets!**

**Pippa.**


	34. Day of the Moon Pt1

**Hey guys, sorry this is late but I didn't want to try posting it while there was so many issues over the weekend. But here it is, so enjoy. **

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I stood there watching the monitor, listening closely to the conversation the Doctor was having with Canton. "We found Amy Pond. She had strange markings on her arm. Do you know what they are?" Canton asked, showing the Doctor some pictures of the marks before tossing them onto the platform he was on.

I hated what I was seeing. The Doctor was chained up, and in a straight jacket, sitting down in a chair. He was a prisoner in Area 51, surrounded by armed guards. And all I could do was watching what happened.

"Why don't you ask her?" The Doctor said, glancing down at the pictures. _"Hey, Star, are you okay?"_ The Doctor called to me.

"_No."_ I told him simply. _"How can I be okay when I have to watch you sitting there every single day. Knowing that Amy, Rory and River are all out there somewhere. Being chased and hunted by Canton. No, I'm really not okay." _

"_It will all be over soon, I promise you. Not long left now."_ He tried to assure me.

The days passed by, and I continued to just watch the monitor, to watch the Doctor sit there day after day. At least we were still able to communicate with each other. We could still talk to each other. The Doctor mainly tried to reassure me that everything really would be fine and that Amy, Rory and River would all be safe. But I couldn't help but feel something was going to happen to them.

"We found doctor Song." Canton told him one day.

"These bricks, what are they made of?" The Doctor asked, looking at the large black bricks that were being placed around him. "Where is she?"

"She ran. Off the fiftieth floor." That sounded like something that River would do, after all, she did jump out of an airlock before to get to the TARDIS.

"I'd say zero balanced dwarf star alloy. The densest material in the universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison. And it still won't be enough." The Doctor growled at him from his chair.

"Where is she?" Canton asked the Doctor. "Where's Summer Richards?" The Doctor just glared at him.

"Her name is Star." He said, in a very low and intimidating voice. "And if you lay a finger on her, you will regret it." The Doctor warned him.

The Doctor had a pretty rugged look going on now. His hair was noticeable longer, and he had a beard, that could really do with a trim. _"Only a few more days, I promise you."_ He said to me after Canton had left.

"_It better only be a few more days. I can't take this any longer. This is driving me insane." _I told him, trying to keep my emotions in check. It had been months, I had been stuck in there for months, watching the Doctor and worrying about my friends.

But the Doctor had been right, a few days later, the cell was completed and two body bags were dragged in. "Is there a reason you're doing this?" The Doctor asked as he avoided looking at the body bags.

"I want you to know where you stand." Canton told him smugly.

"In a cell." The Doctor pointed out.

"In the perfect cell." The man corrected him. "Nothing can penetrate these walls. Not a sound, not a radio wave, not the tiniest particle of anything." Once the last soldier left the cell, he touched a panel and the cell closed. The outline of the door disappearing completely. "In here, you're literally cut off from the rest of the universe. So I guess they can't hear us, right?"

"Good work, Canton. Door sealed?" The Doctor asked him quietly.

"You bet."

The Doctor shook off the chains and straight jacket, and at the same time, the people in the body bags sat up, gasping for breath. Finally it was over, all these months of waiting, and it was finally over.

The Doctor helped Rory before dashing over to help Amy in her bag. "These things could really do with air holes." Rory commented, slightly irritated.

"Never had a complaint before." That comment just made me want to smack Canton, but there was something else I needed to do first.

"Isn't it going to look odd that you're staying in here with us?" Amy asked, getting out of her bag.

"Odd, but not alarming. They know there's no way out of this place." Canton told her.

"Exactly. Whatever they might think we're doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere." The Doctor said, before resting himself against something invisible in the room. I couldn't help but smile when I felt the vibration's of him leaning on the TARDIS. The Doctor snapped his fingers, and the doors opened. "Shall we?"

"What about Star and Doctor Song?" Canton asked, not knowing that I had been there the whole time.

Before anyone had the chance to get in the TARDIS, I charged out and practically tackled the Doctor to the ground. I held onto him so tightly, forcing myself not to cry.

The Doctor chuckled a little as he wrapped his arms around me. "I've missed you." He whispered, burying his head in my hair.

"I missed you too." I told him, nowhere near ready to let him go yet. "Don't ever make me have to wait like that ever again. I hate it, I hated being apart from you for so long." I mumbled into his jacket.

"Hey, come on, it's over now. I promise never to do anything like that to you ever again." He assured me, kissing the top of my head.

I looked at him and frowned, I did not just spend three months waiting in the TARDIS to get a kiss on the head from him. I pulled him down a little and our lips met. Three months of not being near each other, not being able to touch each other, only speaking through our minds. It had been pure torture, for both of us. The Doctor returned the kiss, being just as passionate as I was.

We only broke apart when we heard someone clearing their throat. We looked over and saw the trio staring at us. "I've been stuck in the TARDIS on my own for three months. I think I'm allowed this one thing." I told them, before turning my attention back to the Doctor.

There was a grin on his face and he leaned towards me and we shared another kiss. It appeared that he really had missed me as well, and didn't care about the three people watching us. _"We have to get River."_ He reminded me as we broke apart.

"_Yeah, I guess we really should."_ I said, resting my head against his chest. Straight away we had to get back to saving the universe.

"So what about Doctor Song?" Canton asked as the Doctor and I finally entered the TARDIS. "She dove off a rooftop."

"Yeah, don't worry. She does that." I told him, running around the console. "Amy, Rory, open all the doors to the swimming pool, if you please."

The Doctor and Canton just looked at me as the Ponds charged through the TARDIS to do their job. "How do you know where she is?" Canton asked me.

I just smiled at him. "Canton, I've been locked up in here for a while, I've kept myself busy." I had been tracking River the whole time, keeping tabs on where she was. I had done the same with Amy and Rory as well because I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong with the plan.

The Doctor and I carried on charging around the console, only stopping briefly when we had landed. We heard the splash that told us River had made it into the TARDIS safely. _"Thank you, sexy."_ I called, knowing that she had shifted the swimming pool.

"So, we know they're everywhere. Not just a landing party, an occupying force, and they have been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them." The Doctor rambled as he started working on the console again, getting us to our next destination.

"So what are they up to?" Canton asked us.

"No idea. But the good news is, we've got a secret weapon." The Doctor said, just as River, Amy and Rory came back into the console room. River was in dry clothes, and had a towel in her hand, trying to dry her hair.

"I'd give it a seven, River." I said, smirking at her. "I've seen better. Now, secret weapon." I called, running out of the TARDIS as we landed.

Everyone followed behind me and we looked over at the Saturn V rocket. "Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" River asked us curiously.

"No, no. It's not Apollo 11. That would be silly. It's Neil Armstrong's foot." The Doctor told her, before dragging us all back into the TARDIS.

We all piled back into the TARDIS, and I rushed around the console while the Doctor injected something into Canton's hand.

"Ow!" The man cried, rubbing the palm of his hand.

"Ha. So, three months. What have we found out?" The Doctor asked, walking over to Rory.

"Well, they are everywhere. Every state in America. Ahh." He cried as he suffered the same pain from the Doctor as Canton did.

"Not just America." I called, walking around to the side where Amy was standing. "The entire world."

"There's a greater concentration here, though." River pointed out, having finally finished drying her hair off completely.

Amy let out a yelp of pain as she too was injected by the Doctor. "Are you okay?" He whispered to her as we stood with her.

"All better." Amy told us both.

I just looked at her, sensing there was more to it than she was telling us. "Better?"

"Turns out I was wrong. I'm… I'm not pregnant." As Amy spoke, I noticed her husband walking over towards us. He seemed to just be able to sense that we were talking about something, and there was a look of concern on his face.

"What's up?" He asked her gently, standing on the other side of her.

"Nothing. Really, nothing, seriously." Amy said, not very convincingly.

Canton, not noticing the slight tension, got us all back on track. "So you've seen them, but you don't remember them."

"You've seen them too. That night at the warehouse, remember?" River informed him. "While you were pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away. The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything." Rory told the man.

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always." Amy told him.

"Which could account for me throwing up when we were at the Oval Office." I pointed out. Those three months spent in the TARDIS, I had really kept myself busy. I ran a few tests myself, which the TARDIS told me not to worry about.

"So that's why you marked your skin." Canton finally realised. It had been the only way they could keep track of what was happening at the time.

"Only way they would know if they'd had an encounter." I told him, making my way over to River.

"How long have they been here?"

Amy let out a sigh. "That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out."

"Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover." Rory was right, it was such a hindrance not remembering.

"How long do you think?"

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall. They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins." The Doctor declared, joining me with River.

"How?"

"Like this." I said, snatching the injector gun from the Doctor and quickly injecting River, making her let out a yelp and the Doctor and I laugh. "Nanorecorder. Fuses with the cartilage in your hand." I injected the Doctor, before giving it back to him.

"And it tunes itself directly to the speech centres in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what." He looked at me apologetically before injecting the nanorecorder into my hand. I was the only person who didn't make a sound. "Telepathic connection. So the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it," he pressed his palm before taking again, "and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."

He pushed his palm again. _"And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."_ The Doctor's voice recording said.

"Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened." I told them, feeling like I had actually forgotten something already.

The Doctor frowned at me, and gave me a concerned look. I just nodded at him and let him carry on talking. "The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand. If you've had an encounter, that's the first you'll know about it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before we started?" Canton asked. I was finding it slightly annoying at having to have everything explained to him. We had other things to be doing, such as putting our plan into action.

"We did, but even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you." The Doctor told him.

Canton looked at the Doctor, then to his side, before turning back and straightening the Doctor's bow tie. All of us just stood there, looking at him.

"What?" Canton asked, noticing our faces. "What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand." River told him, a slight trace of panic in her voice.

He looked down and saw a red light flashing in his palm. "Why is it doing that?"

"What does it mean if the light's flashing? What did we just tell you?" I asked him.

"I haven't…"

"Play it." The Doctor said, interrupting him from whatever it was he was going to say.

He pressed the light in his hand and the recording played. _"My God, how did it get in here?"_ Canton called.

"_Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie."_ The Doctor told him.

"_What? What are you staring at?" _

"_Look at your hand."_ Rivers voice called.

Canton slowly turned around and looked in the directed he had before straightening the Doctor's bow tie. The rest of our gazes followed and we saw one of those tall creatures, in the slick black suit. The same thing I remember seeing somewhere before, except I was never going to be able to remember where.

"It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone. Take a good, long look." The Doctor said, before the image faded. "You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting. Describe it to me."

Canton just looked at him blankly. "I can't."

"No. Neither can I. You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head when you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people." Amy wondered out loud. "You could be doing stuff and not really know why you're doing it."

"Like posthypnotic suggestion." Rory added.

"Ruling the world with posthypnotic suggestion?"

"Now then, a little girl in a spaceship. They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?" I asked, wanting to just get to the bottom of all this now.

"It could be anywhere." Canton pointed out.

"Except they'd probably stay close to that warehouse, because why bother doing anything else? And they'd take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention." I told him, starting to set the coordinates for the next place we were going. "But you'll have to find her. We're off to NASA."

Canton looked at the pair od us as if we were mad. "Find her? Where do we look?"

"Children's homes." The Doctor told him.

We dropped Amy and Canton off, leaving them to find the little girl. Rory and River were our back up, at my instance, for when something went wrong with the Doctor's plan. I was feeling a little nervous, not for me, but for Amy. I had this terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"No, Doctor. The other wire." I warned him as he lay on his back making some adjustments to Apollo 11.

"Ah, right. Yes. Thank you." He said, before getting back to work.

My phone started ringing so I quickly answered. "Amy?"

"_I think we've found the place she was taken from."_

"How do you know?" I asked her curiously. If they really had managed to find the place, they had found it rather quickly.

"_Because those things have been here. But the whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."_ She told me, sounding rather nervous herself.

"Repeated memory wipes fry you head eventually." I told her, rubbing my forehead. "Find out what you can, but don't hang around." I warned her, wanting both her and Canton safely back at the TARDIS soon.

"_Where are you?"_

I didn't get chance to really answer her, as I noticed some men watching the Doctor and I. "Got to go. We've got company." I whispered, before tucking my phone away in my pocket.

"Don't worry, I've put everything back the way I found it. Except this." The Doctor told them, holding onto a piece of the rocket. "There's always a bit left over isn't there?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Only when you're working, dear." I mumbled to him. I knew there was a very good reason why I had left Rory and River in the TARDIS. I knew there was a reason I made sure we had a back up plan, because now, we were going to need it.

The men took us away from Apollo 11 and to a more secure area, where we were both forced to sit down and be interrogated.

"Now, one more time, sir, miss. How the hell did you get into the command module?" One of the men asked us.

"I told you. We're on a top secret mission for the President." The Doctor said, before starting to bite his handcuffs. I knew I could get them off us in a flash, but I didn't think that would improve the situation.

"Well, maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell." The man said, laughing at us a little.

I let out a sigh. "I have sent him a message. He should come to our aid rather soon." No sooner had I finished talking that the President walked through the doors with Rory and River beside him.

"Hello, I believe it's Mr Gardner. Is that correct? Head of Security?" Nixon asked as he approached the man.

"Er, yes sir. Yes Mr President." The man who had been interrogating us replied, feeling a little nervous I would say.

"Mr Grant, is it?" Nixon asked the other man who was with him.

"Yes, Mr President."

Nixon smiled at both of the men, clearly he was ready to get the pair of us out of this little situation. "The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today at Cape Kennedy, and you're the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr President." Gardner replied, feeling more than just a little proud of himself.

"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr Grant?" Nixon asked.

"Yes, Mr President."

"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"

"Just a healthy America, sir." Grant replied, a smile on his face.

"A healthy American will do just nicely. Now, fellows, listen. This pair, here, code named the Doctor and Star, are doing some work for me personally. Could you cut them a little slack?" Nixon asked. He had done well, he had made the men feel comfortable, and a little more relaxed, before going in for what he wants.

"Er, Mr President, they did break into Apollo 11." Gardner reminded him.

I noticed the Doctor mouth 'sorry' to President Nixon as the man eyed us suspiciously. "Well, I'm sure they had a very good reason for that. But I need you to release them now so they can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?" Nixon asked.

Grant just looked at us. "Well…"

Nixon frowned, seeing that the men were having some serious doubt, and were hesitant to comply with the President. "Son, I am your Commander in Chief." Nixon said, keeping his head held high and the authority in his voice.

"Then I guess that would be fine, Mr President."

"Glad to hear it." Nixon said, before the guards released the Doctor and I. "Thank you. Bye-bye." The Doctor said, shaking Gardner and Grant's hands before taking my hand and leading me back to the TARDIS.

"Carry on, gentlemen." President Nixon said, before following us into the blue box with River and Rory.

"Doctor, we need to get President Nixon back and then we have to get to Amy and Canton." I told him as he started to charge around the console.

"Why? What is it?" The Doctor asked me, looking at me in concern.

"I… I don't know. I just… it feels like something is wrong. Something sounded wrong when she was speaking to me. I don't know, I can't explain it, but she's in trouble, Doctor. We have to hurry." He heard the urgency in my voice and it wasn't long until we were back in the Oval Office.

"You have to tape everything that happens in this office. Every word, or you won't know if you're under the influence." The Doctor told the President.

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this. What were the pair of you doing to Apollo 11?" Nixon asked us.

"Thing. A clever thing. Now, no more questions. You have to trust us and nobody else."

Before Nixon could reply, River was at the doors of the TARDIS, phone still in her hand. "Doctor, Star, it's Canton. Quick, he needs us." She said in a bit of a panic.

"Oh no. Please be okay, Amy. Please be okay." I begged as I ran ahead of the Doctor and in to the TARDIS.

"Right, come on, let's go." The Doctor said, charging around the console.

I just stood there in a bit of a daze. "Hey you okay?" River asked, putting a hand on my arm.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about Amy. I can't help but feel that something bad has happened." I told her trying to keep myself calm.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything is fine." River assured me, while the Doctor piloted the TARDIS.

As always when the Doctor was driving, it was a bumpy ride. But we all made it to the children's home where Canton and Amy were in one piece still.

"Amy! Amy, can you hear me? Amy, I'm going to try to blow the lock. I need you to stand back." Canton called down the hallway.

"Okay, gun down. I've got it." The Doctor said, pushing him away from the door and pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Amy, we're here. Are you okay?" Rory called through the door, just before the Doctor got it open.

"_I can't see."_ Was all I heard her calling.

While they rushed into the room, my attention was drawn to something else, something hidden in the shadow of the corridor. "Hello?" I called, taking a cautious step forward.

I could hear them talking in the other room, Amy was missing, and the nanorecorder had been ripped out of her, resulting in it defaulting to a live feed. Wherever she was, she was crying and she was scared.

"I know you're there. You don't have to hide from me, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." I don't know why, but I just had the feeling that it wasn't someone or something that I should be afraid of. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

I continued to walk forward, one slow step at a time, until I reached a corner. I could hear something breathing heavily as they leaned against the wall. And that was when I saw her, the little girl who had been trapped in the spacesuit back at the warehouse.

I thought back to what had happened at the warehouse, the moment Amy pulled the trigger, I released some energy, stopping the bullet in the air and making it clatter to the floor. My necklace wouldn't stop burning, it was like it was trying to tell me something, but I just didn't know what. As I looked at the little girl back at the warehouse, I saw something so familiar in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay, calm down." I said to the girl, taking a step closer towards her. "What's your name?"

"I didn't… they made me… please…" The little girl said in a bit of a panic.

I could see that she was frightened, that she was afraid. "Shush, it's fine. You're safe now. I won't let anything else happen to you, okay?" I could see that she was hesitant, that she didn't believe me. I held out my hand, hoping that she would take it. "I promise, I am not going to hurt you."

She gave me what I thought was a slight smile, before lightly taking hold of my hand. That was when I saw something, a flash of Amy holding a baby. I felt something burning on my chest, but I was too preoccupied to care about it. "Who are you?" I asked her, feeling just a tiny bit scared.

I didn't like the scared look on the little girls face as she looked at something behind me. I slowly turned my head and saw a large creature in a black suit standing behind me. "Run." I called to the little girl, pushing her away from me.

Before I had the chance to move anywhere, it felt like I was struck by lightening. My legs gave way and my vision started to blur as I hit the floor.

"Star? Star, what happened? Star, wake up." I heard the Doctor calling.

"Oh, blimey my head hurts." I mumbled, feeling him pulling me up off the floor. "The little girl, where is she?" I asked them, looking around. I couldn't see her anywhere.

"We haven't seen her, the spacesuit was in the room, empty." The Doctor told me, wrapping his arms around me to keep me steady. "What happened?"

"I don't remember. I was talking to the little girl, I asked her who she was. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground with a splitting headache." I told him, rubbing my head a little to try and ease the pain.

"Hello? Is somebody there? I think someone has been shot. I think we should help. We c… I can't re… I can't remember." We heard the man who ran the place, Renfrew, calling.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor whispered to me, as we followed Canton to Renfrew's office. He had told us that he had shot one of the creatures, more like he had played the recording of him shooting it to us all.

"I'm fine. I just feel a little weird at the moment. There was something familiar about the little girl, I just don't know what it was. And I have no idea how I ended up on the floor with such a rotten headache." I told him honestly. I really couldn't remember a thing about what had happened, and it was annoying me.

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**A/N: Hope you all liked it, I've had a bit of writers block recently and when I finally had a break through, I had one too many ideas. **

**As always, I love your reviews. They seriously make me smile and it's nice to know that there are some out there who actually read this story of mine. **

**Next chapter coming soon, I promise. **

**Pippa.**


	35. Day of the Moon Pt2

When we made it to the office, we saw one of those creatures in pain on the floor. Canton hadn't actually killed it. "Okay. Who and what are you?" The Doctor asked it, keeping a tight hold on me.

"Silence, Doctor. We are the Silence." It replied. I remembered hearing that voice somewhere before, but I just couldn't work it out.

The Doctor remembered all the other times he had heard talk about the Silence. Prisoner Zero had mentioned it to him. When we were in Venice, it was only silence that we could hear when we left. Rosanna told us that they ran from the Silence.

"And Silence will fall." The creature told us.

"_Theta, we need to get a move on. We have to finish this, now."_ I told him, knowing that time was running short. We needed to find Amy, and we needed to stop the Silence.

After a few trips in the TARDIS, picking up President Nixon and dropping him, Canton and the Silence off at Area 51, the Doctor, River, Rory and I ended up back at the warehouse.

"_The target for the Apollo 11 astronauts, the Moon, at lift off, will be at a distance of 218,096 miles away. We're just past the two minute mark in the countdown. T minus one minute fifty four seconds and counting." _The man and on the small television said as we examined the spacesuit we took from the children's home.

"It's an exoskeleton. Basically, life support." River told us. "There's about twenty different kinds of alien tech in here."

"Who was she? Why put her in here?" The Doctor asked, looking at everything in the suit, while River looked at her handheld computer still.

"Put this on, you don't even need to eat. The suit processes sunlight directly. It's got built in weaponry, and a communications system that can hack into anything." River told us, while Rory stood over to the side, thinking only of Amy.

"Including the telephone network?" The Doctor asked, before giving me a concerned look. He had expected me to join in with investigating the spacesuit, but I couldn't get my mind off that child.

"Easily."

"But why phone the President?" The Doctor wondered.

"It probably defaults to the highest authority it can find. The little girl get frightened, the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone call. The night terrors with a hotline to the White House." I said, getting nod from River to confirm what I had said.

I watched the Doctor pull out the blue envelope with the invitation in it and he just had to lick it. "You won't learn anything from that envelope, you know." River told him, barely looking up at him.

"Purchased on Earth. Perfectly ordinary stationery. TARDIS blue. Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face. That's a first, for me. How about you?" He asked River.

"Our lives are back to front." She told him, stopping what she was doing and looking over at me was well. "You future's my past. Your firsts are my lasts." There was a sad look on her face, and I could understand why.

I knew that the first time the Doctor met her, was the day that she died. I was slowly growing to like River, but there was still something about her that I couldn't work out, and for some reason, ever since meeting that child, that feeling was stronger.

"That's not really what I asked." The Doctor said, not noticing the sad look on my face.

"Ask something else then."

"What are the Silence doing, raising a child?" I asked, finally moving over to the Doctor and River.

"Keeping her safe, even giving her independence." River answered.

"The only way to save Amy is to work out what the Silence are doing." The Doctor said, starting to pace around a little.

"I know." Rory called, missing his wife and just wanting her back.

"And every single thing we learn about them brings us a step closer."

"Yeah, Doctor, I get it. I know."

The Doctor just ignored Rory and carried on rambling. "Of course, it's possible she's not just any little girl."

"Well, I'd say she's human, going by the life support software." River told him.

There was something in the way she had said t that made me think there was more to it than that. "But?"

"She climbed out of this suit. Like she forced her way out. She must be incredible strong." River said.

"Incredibly strong and running away. I like her." The Doctor said, coming over to me and wrapping an arm around me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but what if…" I bit my lip a little. "What if she isn't just any human? What if she's… more than human?" I asked him, getting a very shocked and panicked look from River.

"We should try finding her." River said, not giving the Doctor a chance to respond to me.

"Yes, I know. But how?" The Doctor said. "Anyway, I have the strangest feeling she's going to find us."

"She always does." I mumbled, watching River carefully.

"_Apollo 11, this is Houston. How do you read? Over._" They were almost ready to take off now.

"Why does it look like a NASA spacesuit?" Rory wondered out loud.

"Because that's what the Silence do." I told him. "Think about it. They don't make anything for themselves. They don't have to. They get other life forms to do it for them."

"So they're parasite then." River suggested, keeping her gaze away from mine. Now I was sure that there was something else she was hiding from me.

"Superparasites." The Doctor said. "Standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning. We know they can influence human behaviour any way they want. If they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years…"

"Then what?" Rory asked, the look on his face told me he was more than a little worried about what the Doctor was about to say.

"Then why did the human race suddenly decide to go to the Moon?"

"_Ten, nine. Ignition sequence start. Six, five, four…"_

"Because the Silence needed a spacesuit." The Doctor finished.

"_One, zero. All engines running. Lift off. We have lift off. Thirty two minutes past the hour, lift off on Apollo 11."_

"Come on, Canton. We're running out of time." I mumbled to myself, forgetting that the Doctor was right beside me.

"Don't worry, he'll make it. It will all work out." He assured me, kissing the top of my head.

He began to play around with River's handheld when a message came through. He played it and we both smiled when we heard the creature Canton had taken back to Area 51 saying we should kill them all on sight.

"This suit, it seems to be repairing itself." River said, noticing one of the hands twitching. "How is it doing that? Doctor, Star, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?"

"Why?" The Doctor asked, frowning at her.

"Well, the little girl said the spaceman was coming to eat her. Maybe that's exactly what happened." I said, stepping over to where Rory was. He needed a friend right now, and I was going to be there for him.

"_I love you. I know you think it's him. But it's not. It's you. And when I see you again, I'm going to tell you properly, just to see your stupid face."_ I couldn't help but smile a little when Amy said that. _"My life was so boring before you just dropped out of the sky. So just get your stupid face where I can see it, okay? Okay?"_

"She'll be safe for now. No point in a dead hostage." The Doctor said, earning himself a very hard whack around the head and a glare from me.

"Can't you save her?" Rory asked the pair of us.

"We can track that signal back. Take us right to her." I told him gently. I knew what he was likely to say next, and I wasn't looking forward to explain it all to him.

"Then why haven't you?" That was what I was expecting. If the Doctor and I could track Amy, then why hadn't we done it already? Rory didn't know that there was a lot more to it still.

"Because then what?" The Doctor asked him. "We find her and then what do we do? This isn't an alien invasion. They live here. This is their empire. This is kicking the Romans out of Rome."

"Rome fell." Rory told him bluntly.

"I know. I was there." The Doctor told him.

Rory just glared at the Doctor. "So was I."

"Personal question."

The glare turned into a look of shock. "Seriously, you?"

"Do you ever remember it? Two thousand years, waiting for Amy? The last Centurion." The Doctor asked him.

"No."

I smiled at him a little. "You're lying." I told him.

"Of course I'm lying." He said, trying not to smile at me.

"Of course you are. Not the sort of thing anyone forgets." The Doctor said solemnly.

"But I don't remember it all the time. It's like this door in my head. I can keep it shut." The Doctor and I both knew exactly what he meant. We lived for so long, had seen so much, we could just lock things away, and leave them there.

"_Please, please, just come and get me. Come and get me"_ Amy cried through the nanorecorder that Rory had not let go of.

We turned our attention to the television as they talked about Armstrong and Aldrin getting ready to take their first steps on the Moon.

"Doctor, I think it's time to go get Amy now." I whispered to him, keeping my eyes focused on the progress of the Apollo 11.

"Right, come on then." He said, dragging me towards the TARDIS. Rory and River were close behind us. "Okay, tracking back the signal, locking on… and landed." The Doctor said, as there was a loud thump.

"Okay, why do I have a really bad feeling about this?" I asked, feeling just a little bit sick.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked me as we made out way to the doors.

"Yeah, let's just go and get Amy and end this." I said, wishing it was all over and done with.

He pulled the door open and poked his head out. "Oh, interesting. Very Aickman Road. We've seen one of these before." He said, dragging me out of the TARDIS with him. The machine in the room looked exactly like the time engine that was the flat above Craig's.

"Abandoned though, I wonder how that happened." I said, looking around. The last time we had seen one of them, it hadn't worked out so well for me, hopefully this wouldn't have the same results.

"Oh well, I suppose we're about to find out." The Doctor said, before turning to face Rory and River who were just stepping out of the TARDIS. "Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times." He then turned his attention to the Silence. "Oh, hello. Sorry, were you in the middle of something. I just had to say, thought, have you seen what's on the telly?" He asked, grabbing it from the TARDIS and setting it down.

"Hey, Amy. Are you alright?" I asked her, standing beside her and checking her over for any injuries.

"Want to watch some television?" The Doctor asked her. "Ah, now, stay where you are." He warned the creatures as they started to move. "Because look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident."

"He's right you know." I added, letting a grin take over my face. "Oh, and this is our friend River. Nice hair, clever, most of the time. Has her own gun, and she really doesn't mind shooting people. We probably shouldn't like that." I said, thinking hard.

"Kind of do a bit." The Doctor added, giving me a smile.

"Thank you sweetie, honey."

"I know you're team players and everything, but she'll definitely kill at least the first three of you." The Doctor warned them.

"Well, the first seven, easily." River told him.

"Seven? Really?" The Doctor asked her, not really able to believe it.

"Oh, please. I could take all of them out in the blink of an eye." I told her, folding my arms across my chest. "Wouldn't you agree, dear?"

"Oh, definitely." The Doctor replied, a smirk on his face.

River just looked at me before nodding. "Okay, you win."

"So, permission to kick River's back side and take more out than her?" I asked the Doctor as sweetly as I could, giving him my puppy dog eyes.

"How can I say no to that face?" The Doctor said, coming over and giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Is this really important flirting? I feel like I should be higher on the list right now." Amy said, bringing us back to reality.

"Yes. Right. Sorry. As I was saying, our naughty friend here is going to kill the first three of you to attack, plus him behind, so maybe you want to draw lots or have a quiz." He told them.

"And I'll take care of the rest of you." I told them smugly. "Or, maybe you could just listen a minute. Because all we really want to do is accept your total surrender and then we'll let you go in peace."

"Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, people have suffered and died, but what's the point in two hearts, if you can't be a bit forgiving, now and then?" The Doctor asked them as Rory tried to free Amy.

"Ooh, the Silence. You guys take that seriously, don't you?" The Doctor said when he had no response from any of the creatures. "Okay, you got me. I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas. First, you tell me about the girl. Who is she? Why is she important? What's she for?"

The television sprang to life and the Apollo coverage came on the screen. _"And we're getting a picture on the TV."_

"Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time." The Doctor told them. "A bit of history for you. Aren't you proud? Because you helped."

I went and stood next to the Doctor. "Now, do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly?" I asked them. "Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars. You just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years, and every single one of them at some point in their lives, will look back at this man, taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it." I told them. I was feeling very confident, and it probably helped that I had the Doctor right beside me, and I had faith in our plan.

"_Okay, engines stop. ATA on the descent. Modes control both auto. Descent engine command off."_

"Oh, but don't forget this bit." The Doctor said, pulling out my phone. "Ready?"

"_Ready." _ Canton called from the other end of the phone.

"_That's one small step for man…" _Armstrong said on the television.

"_You should kill us all on sight. You should kill us all on sight. You should kill us all on sight. You should kill us all on sight."_ The recording of the Silence that Canton had gotten hold of played on the screen on a loop for a few seconds.

"You've given the order for your own execution, and the whole planet just head you." The Doctor told them smugly.

"_You should kill us all on sight."_

"_One giant leap for mankind."_ Armstrong finished.

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence." The Doctor shouted in excitement. "You just raised an army against yourself and now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? Because today's the day the human race throw you off their planet."

I could see how happy the Doctor was to have had everything the Silence work for completely backfire on them. "They won't even know they're doing it. I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now, is oops. Run!" The Doctor called. But no one moved. "Guys, I mean us. Run!" The Doctor cried.

"I can't get her out!" Rory called from Amy's side.

"Go. Go!" Amy shouted at him as I made my way over to them.

"We are not leaving without you." Rory told her sternly.

"Look, will you just get your stupid face out of here." Amy told him, making him take a step back in shock.

"Both of you, shut up and get in the TARDIS. Now!" I shouted, focusing on the binds that were keeping Amy in place. A second later, she was free and running towards the TARDIS.

I quickly went over to River, who was already shooting away at the creatures, with the Doctor standing behind her. "Don't let them build to full power." The Doctor warned us.

"I know. There's a reason why I'm shooting, sweetie. What are you doing?" She asked him, noticing he had his sonic screwdriver out.

"Helping."

I just laughed at him. "Dear, you have a screwdriver, go do something useful and build a cabinet with it. Leave this to us, we know how to handle ourselves."

"That's really rude." The Doctor commented, clearly a little hurt.

"Oh, shut up and drive." I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before watching him run into the TARDIS. "You ready, River?"

"Oh, hell yes." She said, smirking away at me.

I took a deep breath and looked around the room, counting the amount of those creatures that were still standing. There was a fair amount of them, but I knew they wouldn't last much longer. River kept on firing, waiting for my signal to stop. I felt the energy building within me, and I knew I was ready to end this. "Go, River!" I shouted. She nodded at me and ran into the TARDIS.

I watched, as I released the energy and every single one of the Silence dropped to the floor. "You finished now?" River asked me, as she and Rory came out of the TARDIS.

"So, what kind of doctor are you?" Rory asked, looking at River still holding her gun.

I nodded behind River, her arm went back and she fired the last one that I had left, just for her. "Archaeology. Love a tomb."

"Shall we?" I asked, running past the pair and straight into the TARDIS.

"You can let me fly it." The Doctor called as River and I both started running around the console.

"Yeah, or we could go where we're supposed to be." River retorted, sending me a wink.

"I have to agree with River this time." I told him, making him pout a little. "But after this, we can go anywhere you want, and I promise not to say a word about your driving."

We ended up back at the Oval Office, after picking up Canton and Nixon. "So we're safe again." President Nixon stated, shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Safe? No, of course you're not. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But, if you want to pretend you're safe, just so you can sleep at night? Okay, you're safe. But you're not really." The Doctor told him. "Canton. Until the next one, eh?"

"Looking forward to it." The man replied.

"Canton just wants to get married. Hell of a reason to kick him out of the FBI." The Doctor said.

"I'm sure something can be arranged." Nixon told us.

"I'm counting on you."

"Er, Doctor. Canton here tells me you're… you're from the future. It hardly seems possible, but I was wondering…"

"I should warn you, he doesn't answer a lot of question. Trust me, I know this from experience." I warned the President.

"But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask. Will I be remembered?" I could hear the concern in his voice.

"Oh, Dicky. Tricky Dicky. They're never going to forget you. Say hi to David Frost for me." The Doctor said, taking my hand and walking back into the TARDIS with me.

"Right then, where to next?" I asked, plonking myself down in one of the chairs as River and the Doctor stood by the console.

"Time I went back." River said sadly. I knew exactly what she meant, it was time for her to go back to Stormcage.

The Doctor just nodded and started to put in the coordinates, while I stepped over to where River was standing. "River, I want you to be honest with me." I said to her, causing her to tense a little. "What happened before we met at the diner? Because I know something happened, I saw it."

"What did you see?" She asked me, fear flooding her face.

I glanced over at the Doctor, and saw he was still busy with the console. "The Doctor, dead. And me beside him." If I thought she was worried before, I was sorely mistaken. "What happened, River? If you want me to trust you, I want the truth."

"Star, I can't tell you. I'm so sorry. But I promise you, everything will be fine. I know it will because I've been there, I've seen it." She told me. I wanted to believe her, but she hadn't given me a straight answer, so how could I trust her?

"Come on. We're here." The Doctor said, slipping his hand into mine.

The three of us walked out of the TARDIS and River went straight over to her open cell. "You could come with us." The Doctor suggested, holding me against his chest.

"I escape often enough, thank you. And I have a promise to live up to. You'll understand soon enough." She told us.

"Okay, up to you. See you next time." The Doctor said.

"Bye then, River." I let the Doctor start to drag me away.

"What, that's it? What's the matter with the pair of you?" River asked us, confusion set all over her face.

"Have we forgotten something?" I asked her curiously.

"Oh, shut up." She said, grinning away before grabbing hold of the Doctor and I and throwing an arm around each of our necks.

"O…kay." I said, when she finally let us go.

"What's wrong? You're acting like we've never done that before." I could tell she was hurt, it was in her voice.

"We haven't." The Doctor admitted, frowning at her.

"We haven't?"

I just shook my head at her. "I'm sorry, River. We have to go now."

"There's a first time for everything." The Doctor told her, before we made our way back into the TARDIS. I could have sworn I saw tears in River's eyes as we left, and I suddenly felt guilty.

"Rory, I'm going to need the thermocouplings. The green ones and blue ones." The Doctor called to him as he walked around the console.

"Okay, hold on." Rory said, before disappearing down the stairs.

"So…" I said, looking at Amy as she leaned against the console.

"So."

"You're okay?" The Doctor asked her, wrapping his arm around me.

"Fine. Head's a bit weird. There's loads of stuff I can't quite remember." She told us, a distant look on her face.

"After effect of the Silence. Natural enough. That's not what we were asking. You told us you were pregnant." The Doctor said.

"Yes."

I frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because I was. I mean, I thought I was. It turns out I wasn't." She told us. There was something about the way she said it that made me find it hard to believe her.

"No, why did you tell us?" I asked her.

"Because you're my friends. You're my best friends. Summer, you're like a sister to me."

"Hmm." The Doctor said, in agreement. "Did you tell Rory?"

"No." She admitted.

"Amy, why tell us and not Rory?" I asked, feeling a little disappointed in her for not telling him before us.

"Why do you think? I travelled with you in this TARDIS for so long. All that time. If I was pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect? I don't want to tell Rory his baby might have three heads or, like, a timehead, or something." She rambled.

"What's a timehead?" The Doctor asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"I don't know, but what if it had one?"

I, however, couldn't help but let a laugh out. "A timehead?"

"Shut up." Amy said, nudging me a little. "Oi, stupid face." She called.

Rory popped his head around the side and looked up at us. "Er, yeah? Hello."

"I'm taking that away from you, if you're going to listen in all the time." Amy warned him, looking at the nanorecorder in his hand.

"Okay, that's a fair point. But you should've told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a nurse. I'm good with pregnancy." He told her.

"Not, as it turns out, that good. So please, stop being stupid." Amy asked him.

"Er, no, never. I'm never, ever going to stop being stupid."

I just rolled my eyes and joined the Doctor at he scanner. He quickly flicked the channel on it before I had a time to look at the screen, which made me slightly suspicious of him. "So, this little girl. It's all about her. Who was she?" The Doctor asked.

"Or we could just go off and have some adventures? Anyone in the mood for adventures? Because I am. You only live once." I said, watching as the TARDIS now scanned Amy to see if she was pregnant. Only it couldn't decide if she was or not. It kept flashing positive, then negative, and back and forth all the time.

I felt my pendant burning against my skin and I let out a hiss of pain. "Star, you okay?" The Doctor asked me, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, it's just… this seems to have been playing up a little recently. It keeps burning me for some reason." I told him, holding it away from my skin so it didn't burn me again.

The Doctor just frowned at me. "When else has it burned you?" He asked, pulling out his screwdriver and scanning the glass pendant.

I had to think about it a little, but then it came to me, hitting me full force. "Just before Amy went to shoot the little girl." I told him in a whisper. Amy had felt so guilt after that when she had realised what she had done.

"And when else?" He asked, knowing that there was still more.

I hesitated for a moment before telling him. "When I had that little encounter with the child, before you found me out cold on the floor."

I could see his mind working overtime, trying to piece it all together. "It doesn't make sense." He told me, looking at his screwdriver. "There's nothing wrong with it." He mumbled.

"Okay, so maybe there's something wrong with me." I suggested. There was something about the look on his face that worried me. "Doctor, what are you not telling me?"

"Nothing. I promise, everything will be fine." I told me, before kissing the top of my head. "Come on then, let's go and have an adventure." And with that, he began to run around the console like his normal mad self. But I knew him better, I knew he was still worrying about a lot of things. Just like I was.

* * *

**A/N: I've been slacking again, I know, I'm sorry. I start my 5 week placement soon so have been getting everything prepared for that. **

**Anywho, I hope you guys all enjoyed. I've got a week off to catch up on all my writing. I'm planning to write at least 3 chapters per day. **

**So, I have all the ideas in my head, and I am going to get them all straightened out and written up. And I just hope you are all going to like them. **

**Thank you to all who have followed/favourited. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Reviews mean a lot to me, it means I got to find out what people think of my story, and what they think is going to happen. Oh, and they make me smile. So feel free to review, or PM me. **

**Pippa.**


	36. The Curse of the Black Spot Pt1

"Doctor, I have a really bad feeling about this." I told him, as I followed behind him.

All he could do was frown at me. "You've been worrying a lot more recently."

"I know, and you know I have my reasons." After everything that had happened, with the child and the Silence, the Doctor seemed to tread more carefully around me. He hardly let me out of his sight and was always checking up on me. "I just know that something is wrong, I can feel it."

"It's okay, we will work it out. I promise you." He told me, before kissing the top of my head and dragging me along with him.

"Doctor, where are we?" Rory called from somewhere behind me.

"Oh look, a hatch." He said, completely ignoring Rory. The Doctor eventually managed to get the hatch open, and we were faced with a group of what looked to me like pirates.

"Yo ho ho! Or does nobody actually say that?" The Doctor called, looking at the men, and weapons.

The Captain led us to his cabin, wanting to know how we got on board and what exactly we were doing there. The Doctor tried to explain to him that we had picked up his distress signal.

"We made no signal." The Captain told us.

"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress." The Doctor told him.

"_Seventeenth century." _I reminded the Doctor.

"Sensors?" It was clear that the Captain was utterly confused.

"Yes. Okay, problem word. Seventeenth century. Our ship automatically, er, noticed-ish that your ship was having some bother." The Doctor told him, trying his best to explain how we knew they were in trouble.

"That big blue crate?" He had seen the TARDIS sitting in the hold, and we had tried to explain to him that it was our ship.

"That is more magic, Captain Avery. They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below deck?" One of the crew asked him. He didn't trust us.

"Well… I want to say multi-dimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there." The Doctor decided. "Look, I'm the Doctor. This is Star, Amy and Rory. We're sailors, same as you. Ooo ar." He put on a rather stupid voice and ended up with a gun pointing at him. "Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness."

"You're stowaways." Avery declared. "Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed."

"No, someone did, but that wasn't us." I mumbled. Only the Doctor heard me and gave me a bit of an odd look. I didn't really know why I said it, I couldn't explain it.

"Now what do we do with 'em?" The crew member standing beside him asked.

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality." That was when we were all led up on deck, where the crew laughed while the Doctor was forced to walk the plank.

"I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description." The Doctor asked nervously, checking the watch on his wrist. "Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard."

"_Oh, shush. I'm thinking here."_ I moaned at him, trying to think of a way out of this mess.

"Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four empty bellies to fill. Take the doxies below the galley. Set them to work. They won't need much feeding." The Captain ordered.

"Oi, do not call me or Amy a doxy." I shouted at him, struggling with the man who was pulling me away.

"Rory? A little help?" Amy called to her husband as she too was pulled away.

"Yeah. Hey, listen, right? She's not a doxy. Neither of them are." Rory said, being held back himself. The only person who wasn't being held onto was the Doctor, he was almost at the end of the plank.

"I didn't mean just tell him off. Thanks anyway." Amy called as she was shoved down below.

"Oh, you lads are so going to regret this." I warned them, feeling a flare of energy building. The Doctor just tried to reassure me, telling me that everything was going to be fine as I was pushed down with Amy.

"Okay, now what do we do?" Amy asked as we jumped down the ladder.

I looked over at a trunk and pulled it open. "Oh, look. Ever been a pirate before?" I asked her. She just shook her head at me and I couldn't help but smile. "Well, now you have." I handed her a cutlass and took one for myself, before opening another trunk and finding some appropriate clothing as well.

"Okay, do we have a plan?" Amy asked me as we prepared to go back on deck.

"Same as the Doctor's." I told her with a grin.

She grinned back at me. "Make it up as we go along."

"Where are the rest of the crew? This is a big ship. Big for five of you. I suppose the rest of them are hiding some place, and they're going to jump out and shout boo." The Doctor asked.

Amy and I took that as our signal a bother shouted at the same time from where we were now standing on deck. "Boo!"

"Throw the gun down." I ordered Avery. He looked at Amy and I, standing there in our coats and tri-corns, holding swords. As soon as it was on the ground, Amy kicked it away. "And the rest of you, on your knees you filthy blaggards."

"Star, Amy, what are you doing?" The Doctor asked, seemingly a little worried.

"Saving your life. Okay with that, are you?" Amy asked him, watching the crew carefully.

"Put down the sword. A sword could kill us all, girl." Avery said to me, the blade of mine extremely close to his throat.

"Really? I never would have guessed that. Maybe you should have thought better before throwing us below deck and sending my Doctor to walk the plank." I felt the energy flare up a little again. Sure I hated weapons, but I was only doing this to get us out of the situation we were stuck in.

Before anything else could be said, the rest of the crew makeshift weapons in their hands and were attacking Amy and I while Avery grabbed hold of the Doctor. The metal clashed as Amy and I both fought of the pirates, they didn't seem to like the fact that two women were able to handle a sword.

The men all started whimpering when the blade came close to them, which made me a little suspicious. Amy and I both ran up the steps. "Grab the rope." I called to her, before cutting it with my blade and sending her swinging across the ship. She kick a man in the face and slashed another with her sword as she went.

"You have killed me." The man who Amy caught said.

"No way. It's just a cut." My dear Amy protested. "What kind of rubbish pirates are you?"

"One drop, that's all it takes." Avery called to her. It seemed like the fight was over, and something else was stirring instead.

"Come on, I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about?" Amy asked. None of us really knew what was going on, but I had a bad feeling that we were about it.

One of the other pirates charged for Amy, making her swing again. As she went, she dropped her sword. Rory went to catch it, but it ended up slicing his hand instead. The man managed to restrain Amy, leaving me the only one standing, except one of them had sneaked up behind me, yanked the cutlass from my hand and tossed it overboard.

"Er, Doctor, what's happening to me?" Rory asked, as a black spot appeared on his hand.

"She can smell the blood on your skin. She's marked you for death." Avery informed him.

"She?" I asked curiously.

"A demon, out there in the ocean."

"Okay. Groovy. So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in. Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you." The Doctor said, a hint of excitement in his voice as he looked at Rory's hand.

"_Probably not the best of times to get all excited"_ I reminded him.

"_And it probably wasn't the best time to dress up and play pirate. But we can certainly do that when we get home."_ I saw a smirk on his face and just rolled my eyes at him.

"_Not a good time to flirt either. Probably."_

That was when we heard singing. There were no words, just… noise. "Quickly now, block out the sound." One of the crew called, covering his ears.

"What?" Rory asked, looking at the others as they all covered their ears as well.

"The creature. She charms all her victims with that song." Avery told us.

"Oh great. So put my fingers in my ears, that's your plan?" Rory cried, more than just a little annoyed. "Doctor, Summer, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the… er… back to the…"

Both Rory and the other man who Amy had cut started to giggle. They were acting like little school girls. "The music. It's working on him. Look." One of the crew pointed out.

"You are so beautiful." Rory said, looking at his wife and acting like, well, a bit of a love sick idiot. Amy seemed a little taken back by the way her husband was acting. "I love your get up. That's great. You should dress like a pirate more often." He told her. "Hey, hey, cuddle me, shipmate." Rory tried to hug her.

"Rory, stop." Amy said to him firmly.

"Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it?" Rory told her, holding onto her shoulders. "Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards. I'd like a beard. I'm going to grow a beard."

"You're not." Amy warned him.

"The music turns them into fools." Avery said, watching both the men.

That was when I noticed the bright light, illuminating part of the water. "Eh, Doctor… you might want to take a look at this." I said, not taking my eyes away from the light.

He turned, and so did everyone else. And we all watched as a woman just flew out of the water. The song became clearer, and louder as she broke the surface. Rory seemed to be enticed by her as she slowly came down onto the deck of the ship.

Amy managed to hold Rory back, but the other man stepped forward, touching the woman's hand as she reached out to him. As soon as he did, he turned into nothing, just a cloud of smoke as he screamed.

"I have to touch her. Let me touch her." Rory cried, dragging Amy forward as she tried even harder to hold him back.

"Sorry but he is spoken for." Amy growled at the green, glowing woman. Those words seemed to make her angry, as she turned red in rage and threw Amy across the deck.

I quickly rushed to her side and helped her up. "Everybody into the hold." The Doctor cried, helping me with Amy. "Rory, come on." The Doctor ended up having to drag him down and into the hold where we stood in a few inches of water.

"What is that thing?" Amy asked, feeling a little shaken from the blow still.

"The legend. The siren." Avery told us.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "She is no siren. I've seen sirens, and she most certainly is not one of them. I mean, really? Sirens look nothing like that. And the singing? Well, don't even get me started on it." I rambled until the Doctor put an arm around my waist. "Sorry, really am getting as bad as you." I mumbled to him. "Anyway, carry on, Captain."

Avery just looked at me as if I was mad, as were the rest of his crew. "Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we becalmed, picked off the injured."

"Like a shark. A shark can smell blood."

"Okay. Just like a shark, in a dress. And singing. And green? A green singing shark in an evening gown." The Doctor declared.

"A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of statues and now a green singing shark in an evening gown. What am I going to do with you, Doctor?" I asked him playfully.

"Oh, shut up, you." He said, rolling his eyes before kissing the top of my head.

"The ships cursed." Captain Avery cried.

"Yeah, right. Cursed is big with humans. It means bad things happening but you can't be bothered to find and explanation." I said. "But there is an explanation, and I'm going to find it."

"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Rory said dreamily.

"Actually, I think you'll find she isn't." Amy told him, getting a little angry and annoyed with her husband.

"She is."

Amy turned to face the Doctor and me. "We have to leave right now."

"That create of your really s a ship?" Avery asked, as we all waited in the hold for some one to come up with a plan. I knew that the Doctor would think of something, he always did. But just in case, I was already forming my own little plan.

"Well, it's not propelled by the wind." The Doctor told him, before having Avery point his gun at him again.

"Show me." He demanded. "Weigh anchor. Make it sail."

The Doctor let out a sigh. "And the gun's back. You're big on the gun thing, aren't you? Freud would say you're compensating. Ever met Freud? No? Comfy sofa."

"Yeah, I remember. Took a lot to wake you up every time." I said, smirking at him a little.

"Leave the cursed one, Captain. The creature can have him." One of the crew called out, talking about Rory.

There was a distant look on Rory's face. "Yes, please."

Avery seemed to agree with him. "We don't want the siren coming after us."

"Not a siren. And we are not leaving anyone behind." I told him firmly.

That was when one of the crew let out a scream before looking down at his leg. "Great, a leech. Everyone get out of the water." I shouted, the Doctor grabbing me and pulling me onto something dry.

"It's bitten me, I'm bleeding." The man who had just pulled he leech off his leg cried. There was now a black spot on the palm of his hand, just like the one Rory had.

"She wants blood. Why does she want blood?" The Doctor wondered out loud.

"What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?" Amy asked the man, a smug grin on her face now.

"It's okay, we're safe down here." The Doctor assured everyone. Only I wasn't feeling as confident as he was. "No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber."

No sooner had he finished talking when the green singing shark in an evening gown suddenly shot up from the water. "You were saying?" I asked him, as he pulled me behind him a little.

"Oh. Ah, hello again." The Doctor said, as she started her wordless song again.

Amy held Rory back, as the other man was drawn towards the woman. He crept forward, pulling away from those trying to hold him back. His hand reached out and he touched the woman, disappearing in a cloud of smoke as he screamed. All that was left of the man was his hat as it hit the floor.

Before I knew what was going on, the Doctor was dragging me out of the room, along with everyone else. Amy was still having trouble with her husband, and had to keep pulling him along with her.

The Doctor finally locked us in a room. "Safe?" Amy asked, holding onto Rory.

"I have my good days and my bad days." He told her, scanning the hat that he had picked up with his sonic screwdriver.

"How did she get in?" Captain Avery asked us.

"Bilge water. She's using the water like a portal, a door. She can materialise through a single drop. We need to get somewhere with no water." The Doctor said in a panic. I had been thinking, and I wasn't quite sure about the so-called siren.

"Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean." Amy hissed, struggling to keep her husband under control.

"Did you see her eyes? Like crystal pools." Rory told her dreamily.

"You are in enough trouble." Amy warned him.

"What about the magazine?" I said, looking at Avery.

Amy seemed a little confused. "What?"

"The armoury where the powders stored." I told her, waiting for an answer from Avery.

"It's dry as a bone." He finally said, making the Doctor' face light up.

"Brilliant idea, Star. Let's go there." There was a smile on his face, but I could see in his eyes that he was still worried.

"I give the orders." Avery told him with a growl.

"Ah, worried because I'm wearing a hat now? Nobody touch anything sharp!" The Doctor called, grasping my hand tightly and pulling me along with him. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked me as we made our way to the only safe place we could think of.

I let out a sigh. "Yes. No. Possibly. Oh, I don't know at the moment. I'm still feeling off, and I have no idea why." I told him honestly.

"Everything is fine. I promise you. What ever is wrong, we will sort it." He assured me. I just nodded at him and we soon reached the armoury.

"Quickly, man." Avery shouted at one of his men as he looked for the key to the door. The only problem was, he couldn't find it. It was missing from his rather large collection of keys. "How can it have gone?"

"Someone else had the same idea. Like I said earlier, we aren't the stowaways." I told them, as the door clicked open when the Doctor tried it.

Everyone pilled into the room, closing the door quickly and barricading it with whatever they could find. I looked around the room, there was something that just didn't feel right. "Who's been sleeping in my gun room?" The Doctor asked, as he looked around as well.

That was when he all heard it, someone coughing. Captain Avery placed his gun back in the holster on his belt before pulling the lid off one of the barrels of gunpowder. "You fool! You fool, boy!" Avery cried, pulling a young boy out from the inside of the barrel. "What are you doing here?"

"Who is he?" One of the crew asked.

"What, he's not one of the crew?" The Doctor asked, a confused look on his face.

"No. He's my son." Avery told us. He set the boy down, informing us that his name was Toby, and let him relax a little. I couldn't help but notice the way he kept coughing so much.

"What in God's name possessed you, boy? Your mother will be searching for you." The look on the boy's face just told me that something was wrong, that there was something he hadn't told his father. It seemed that Avery noticed it as well. "When?"

"Last winter. Fever. She told me all about you. How you were a Captain in the Navy. 'An honourable man she said'. How I'd be proud to know you. I've come to join your crew." The boy told him.

"I don't want you here." Avery told him, a hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke.

"You can't send me back. It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home." The boy reminded him.

"It's dangerous here." Avery told him. I could see that he did actually care for his son. "There is a monster aboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin."

"The black spot?" He asked, showing us the palm of his hand before coughing some more. He too had the mark.

"There's nothing wrong with the boy. He has no scars." Avery said, checking him over for any cuts, any way that the 'siren' could have collected his blood.

"Yep. Ignore my last theory." The Doctor said, his brain working over time trying to make sense of everything.

"He has his good and his bad days." I told Captain Avery. "I'd recommend ignoring several of his theories. I'll let you know when he's found the right one." That just earned me a frown from the Doctor.

"_What are you not telling me?"_ He asked me, watching me closely.

"_She's not a siren. And a lot of this doesn't make any sense. Do you not feel like we are being constantly watched? Like there is something out there, just watching us?" _I asked him, feeling a little nervous and apprehensive about what was going to happen before we had found a way out.

"It's not just blood she's after. She's coming for the sick and wounded." I told everyone. "Like a hunter chooses the weakest animal. Problem is, it won't take long until every gets bruised or something. Humans, you damage too easily." I added.

"She's right. But our ship, it can sail us away from here. You and me, we can fetch it." The Doctor said to Captain Avery. "Let's go."

"You're not the Captain, remember?" The man hissed at him.

I jumped when Toby pulled the lid of the water barrel, allowing the siren's hand to reach out and try to grab him. In an instant the Doctor and I were forcing the lid back down.

"The water's dangerous. That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man." Avery told his son.

"We're all cursed if we stay aboard." One of the crew called out.

I let out a sigh. "It's not a curse. Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are not helpless." I told them, even getting the Doctor frowning at me now. "We need to get out of here."

That time the Doctor nodded at me. "Captain, what's our next move?" He asked Avery.

He turned to his crew. "Wait with the boy."

"Captain, we're all in danger here."

"I said wait. And barricade the door after we've gone." Avery told him firmly.

"Sure you want to go?" Amy asked the Doctor, glancing at me from the corner or her eye.

"We have to get Rory and Toby away. She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling a saucepan, grating cheese." The Doctor replied.

Amy nodded at him. "Okay, well, remember, if you get an itch, don't scratch too hard."

"We've all got to go some time. There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid." He said, causing me to whack him around the back of the head. "What was that for?" He cried, rubbing the spot where I had hit him.

"What do you think? Do you have a thing for sea creatures or something? Fish from space and now mermaids." I asked him, folding my arms across my chest. I most certainly was not impressed with the way he kept eyeing up the fish every time we came across them.

The Doctor let out a sigh before wrapping his arms around me. "We will sort it, all of it. Whatever has happened, I will make it better, I promise." He whispered to me, before letting me go and following Captain Avery out and to the deck.

I noticed Rory finally started to look a little more normal, it would seem that Amy had as well and her face was like thunder and she kept pacing the room while I sat with a coughing Toby.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked her, standing beside her.

"The most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" She asked him quietly.

"Oh, tell me I didn't really say that." Rory moaned, fully understanding now why his wife was just a little upset with him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked, as the two crew members decided to remove the barricade from the door.

"We're not staying here to mollycoddle the boy. The Captain's gone soft. Its time for us to leave." The captains right hand man called.

"You won't get far." I whispered, my bad feeling was just getting worse and worse.

"He told you to wait, you dog." Toby called, getting up from where he was sitting. I was quick to follow behind him. "He's your Captain, a Naval Officer. You're honour-bound to do as he tells you."

"Honour-bound? Do you know what kind of ship this is? Do you know what your father does?"

I glared at the man, before pulling Toby back a little and putting my arms around him from behind. "Don't listen to him, Toby." I told him softly.

"We sail under the black flag. The Jolly Roger."

"Liar!" Toby shouted. "He's no wicked pirate."

"Oh, you think so?" The man growled, trying to be as intimidating as he could, only I wasn't scared of him. He could try as much as he wanted to, but he wouldn't scare me. "I have seen your father gun down a thousand innocent men."

I just held Toby closer to me as I carried on glaring at the crew members. "Get what treasure you can. I'll meet you in the row boat." While the man had been talking, Toby had found a cutlass.

"You're going to remain at your post." Toby ordered, pulling away form me and holding the cutlass in front of him.

"I am not playing games with you, boy. You put that down." The man ordered.

"One more step and I'll use this, you blaggard."

The man just scoffed at him. "You don't know how to fight with a cutlass, boy."

"I don't need to, do I?" Toby asked, before slicing the man's hand. I felt just a little proud of the boy, even though I knew it was wrong.

"You little swabber!" The man cried, seeing the black stop on his hand now as well.

"Congratulations. You made it to the menu. Probably shouldn't go out there now." I told him, a smug smile on my face. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Toby. "You shoot, you blow us all up. I thought you wanted to live?"

"Mulligan, what are you doing?" He asked his crew mate, who had taken the keys from him.

"No honour among pirates." Amy commented, as Mulligan left and the other man started to rebuild the barricade. He was in the same boat as the rest of us now, he had to hide like Rory and Toby.

"Hey, come on Toby. You can put the cutlass down now." I whispered to him, gently tugging it out of his hand. We sat back down and I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. _"Erm, what's happening to the TARDIS?"_ I asked, just knowing that something wasn't right.

"_She's having a tantrum."_

I just frowned. _"What do you mean, a tantrum? She doesn't have tantrums. She can be stubborn at times, but never a tantrum."_

"_The parametric engines are jammed. Orthohonal vector's gone."_ The Doctor called to me in a panic. _"Okay, she's run off on her own. That's a bit of a new one. There goes our only hope of getting out of here."_

All I could do was let out a sigh. _"She can't have gone far. I'm sure se will turn up when she's ready." _

"_Everything been okay down there?"_

I hesitated for a moment. _"Well, Mulligan is making a run for it, the other guy now has the black spot as well, thanks to Toby. Rory has been constantly apologising to Amy for what he said. That's about it I think." _

"_Okay, and what about you? Are you alright?"_ I could hear the concern in his voice, and I could feel it as well.

"_Course I'm alright. Just keeping an eye on Toby. You do know how serious it is? If we could have got him back to the TARDIS he would have been fine. But without her, he won't have long, Doctor."_ I told him sadly. I had already worked out exactly what was wrong with the boy, and now that our ship had run off, there was little hope of curing him.

"_I know. I don't know what else we can do. Just look after him until we get back. We will find a way out of this."_ The Doctor assured me. I knew he was right, we always managed to get out of whatever trouble we got into. And this was going to be no different, even if we were missing our TARDIS at present.

* * *

**A/N: So just my luck, I get sick over half term. But I've been sticking to my writing, and getting at least 2 chapters written up per day (so basically one episode). I'm trying to get ahead again, and I may just be able to do that. **

**Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, they make me smile, and really have been making me feel a little better when i read them. So feel free to leave some more. **

**Also a thank you to all those who have favourited/followed. Next chapter coming soon. **

**Pippa. **


	37. The Curse of the Black Spot Pt2

**A/N: Sorry for the time it has taken to update, and I apologise now for any spelling and grammar errors.**

* * *

I sat there, holding Toby close to me. "How you feeling, Toby?" I asked him softly as he started coughing again.

"Do you really think we are safe from the siren in here?" He asked me, once he had finished he coughing fit.

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't think anywhere is safe at the moment. But I promise not to let anything to happen to you. I won't let her got you, Toby."

"_She got Mulligan, and there was no water in there. How did she get into the storeroom? I don't understand it."_ The Doctor called to me in frustration.

"_Okay, so rethink your theory. What happened with the leeches? And what happened in the storeroom?"_ I asked him, thinking it over myself.

"_Mulligan was in there with nothing but a crown. When we were in the hold, the water was still. It's the not water, that's not how she gets in. The water was still, natures mirror." _The Doctor concluded.

"_So it's reflections. That's how she gets in. You do know how many ways there are for her to get in here now? The windows, the treasure, all of it."_ I told him. I could feel him start to panic, it would appear that no where on the ship was safe while there were reflection.

"Summer, everything okay?" Amy asked, coming and sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, fine. The Doctor has had to change his theory yet again. He should be here in a minute, he can fill you in on everything that has happened." I told her, staring off into space. "There's nothing in here that can give off a reflection is there?"

Amy just frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

"Anything that can be used as a mirror. Such as still water, windows, treasure." I told her, looking around the room for anything that the siren could use to come for Rory and Toby, and the other last crew member.

"No. I don't think so. Is it important?" Amy asked me.

"Just a bit, yeah." I told her, just as there was hammering on the door.

"Star! Amy! Open the door!" The Doctor cried. "Open the door!"

I helped Amy to move everything and opened the door, the Doctor and Avery charged in and went straight over to Toby. "Are you lads looking for something?" I asked them, pulling out a coin wrapped in a piece of cloth. "She isn't coming through this any time soon." I said, passing it to the Doctor.

He took it for me and kissed the top of my head. "Brilliant. Now come on, we need to get rid of anything else that can be use as a portal, anything with a reflection."

"Well? What are we waiting for?" I asked him, running out of the room and into the captain's cabin. "Excuse me while I do it the quick way." I said, blowing out every single one of the windows. There wasn't a piece of glass left in the frame.

The Doctor smiled at me before explaining to Avery what needed to be done. "We've got to destroy every reflection. Gold, silver, glass, she could spring from any of them. Oh, yes, yes, I know, I know. Very bad luck to break it. But look at it this way. There's a stroppy homicidal mermaid trying to kill all." He started smashing a mirror with the butt of a musket.

"How much worse can things get?" Avery asked sarcastically.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" I asked, grabbing anything shiny.

"Best not, Star." The Doctor said, before turning to Avery. "Help me lug this lot out." He kneeled down, looking at all the treasure in the chest.

"Where are we taking it?" Avery asked him, fearing the answer already.

"The ocean."

"No! No. This is the treasure of the Mogul of India." Avery protested.

"Oh, good. For a moment there I thought it was yours." I could tell from the Doctor's tone that he was not impressed.

"No, no. Doctor, wait. Must we do this?"

"Any reflection, any mirror, and that 'thing' will attack. We have to protect Rory and Toby." I told him.

"Go and get the crown from the storeroom." The Doctor told him as he started to throw everything out of the smashed windows. "How you doing?" He asked, as I started to help him.

"I'm on top of the world." I mumbled, throwing some more gold coins out of the window.

"Liar. What's wrong?" The Doctor asked me, trying not to let me see just how concerned he was.

"I don't know. Something just isn't right, and I'm not just talking about on this ship. There's something not right with me." I told him. What made it worse, was I knew that the Doctor was keeping something from me.

He frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it, I just know. Doctor, there's something wrong with me, and I'm scared."

He immediately stopped what he was doing and held me tightly. "There is nothing to be scared of. You're fine, you are absolutely fine. I swear."

"You're lying to me. You know something, why won't you tell me?" I asked him, getting a little irritated.

"Star, listen to me." He said, pushing me away a little and gazing into my eyes. "I promise you, everything will be fine. Don't be scared. Just stay calm, I will always find you."

"What do you mean? You will always find me?"

He didn't answer me, he finished getting rid of the treasure and led me back to the room where Amy, Rory and Toby were waiting for us.

"Just wait?" Rory asked, after the Doctor had explained everything to him.

"Not my most dynamic plan, I realise." He admitted.

"TARDIS?" Amy asked, hoping that there was still some hope.

"It's been towed."

"What?"

"Sorry." The Doctor said, looking a little sheepish. "We might be stuck here for a while."

"So you're saying that we should all just wait here below?" Rory asked him. I wished there had been a better plan, but even I couldn't think of anything.

"The sea is still calm, like a mirror. If you go out on deck she'll rise up and attack you." Avery told them all.

"It's okay. The calm won't last forever. When the wind picks up we'll all set sail." The Doctor had hoped that would cheer them up a little, give them some hope. But the way I saw it, we would still be missing the TARDIS. And without her, we were still stuck.

"Until it does, you have to hide down here."

"_You okay?"_ The Doctor asked, as he came and sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around me.

"_You know I'm not, so why bother to even ask?"_

"You should probably try and get some rest." The Doctor said, looking at Rory and Amy. They just nodded at him before taking my hand and leading me out onto the deck.

"What are we doing out here? I thought it wasn't safe." I said grumpily.

"Not for them. You don't have the black spot, do you?" He asked me, taking hold of both my hands and inspecting them. "No, so she won't be coming for you. You're safe."

"Great." I mumbled, waiting for him to let go of my hands.

"Star, you need to listen to me. You have to stay calm, okay? Just promise me you will stay calm."

I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, but I could hear the concern and desperation in his voice. "Doctor, what's going on? Why do I have to stay calm?"

"Please, you have to promise me." He said, resting his head against mine.

"I promise." I whispered to him. "But tell me, what's going on?"

He didn't answer, he just kissed the top of my head and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"_It's fine. You're doing fine. Just stay calm."_ I heard a woman say somewhere. It was very quiet, almost a whisper. _"She is clueless. She has no idea."_

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked me, a frown on his face.

"I… I don't know. I thought I heard something. Guess I must have imagined it." He only nodded at me.

"It's not one star, it's two." The Doctor said as Captain Avery came out on the deck as well. "The Dog star, Sirius. Binary system."

"I use it to navigate the ocean."

"We've travelled far, like you. Space can be very lonely, and the greatest adventure is having someone to share it with you."

"If we get out of this I'll take him back to England. He can't stay with me. I'm not the father he needs." Avery said, looking a little sad.

"Who are you, Henry Avery? Respected navel officer, wife and child at home." The Doctor asked him.

"How did you end up here, wandering the oceans with a band of rogues?" I added.

Avery looked at the pair of us, before turning his attention back to the sky. "I've set my course now. Nothing I can do to alter it."

"People stared at it for centuries and never knew. Things can suddenly change, when you're least expecting." The Doctor told him, before taking my hand again and leading me back inside. I had started to shiver. The night air was rather cold, and it was biting against my skin.

We ended up in the captain's cabin once again. "This room is wrong, Doctor." I whispered to him, as we both looked around.

"Doctor? Summer?" It seemed Amy had joined us, but the Doctor had finally sensed it as well and he hushed her. "What can you see?" She asked, as the three of us stared out of the broken windows.

"Star's right, it feels like something's out there, staring straight at us." Everything was so still and silent, until we saw a flash in the sky and heard the loud clashing of thunder. "Man the sails!" He shouted, dragging me out on deck with him.

The calm was finally over, the weather had changed and we were now stuck in a storm. "To the rigging, you dogs!" Avery shouted at us. "Let go the sails. Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews."

Amy and Rory both rushed to release the sails, but the rope was wet, and slippery, they weren't getting very far. "I swear he's making half this stuff up." Amy complained.

"Well, we're going to need some kind of phrase book." Rory pointed out, while the Doctor took the helm.

"Just get that sail down otherwise we won't be getting very far." I called to them, working on some of the ropes myself.

"Toby! Find my coat. My compass is inside it, boy." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the boy head down into the hold. "Heave ho, you bilge rats."

"Rats was all I could hear." Rory shouted, having no clue as to what Captain Avery was saying.

"He means put your back into it. Come on, Rory, get that sail down." I shouted to him. It was difficult to hear anything over the pounding of the rain and the rumbling of the thunder.

As Toby came back up with his fathers coat, something fell from it and rolled across the deck. My eyes widened in horror as I saw it was a shiny gold crown. In an instant the so called siren had appeared out of its reflection and was floating back down towards the deck.

"Toby!" I shouted, trying to reach him before the green, glowing woman did. Only I was too late, and he reached out for her, disappearing in a puff of smoke. "No." I whispered, while Avery cried out. The Doctor was quick to toss the crown over the side and into the ocean, making her disappear as well.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He muttered.

I stormed over to the man. "You couldn't give up the gold, could you? That's why you turned pirate. Your commission, your wife, your son." I spat at him. "Just how much is that treasure worth to you?" I was fuming. He cared more about his treasure then he did his own son. There are some things in life I would give everything up for.

The next thing we knew, the wind had blow and Rory had been knocked overboard. "Rory!" Amy cried, rushing to the side and looking over the edge for him. "I can't see him. Doctor, Summer, I'm going in." She said, taking her coat of.

The Doctor and I were both quick on our feet and reached her at the same time to stop her. "He's drowning. He's drowning. You go in after him, you'll drown too." The Doctor told her, holding onto her tightly.

"There's only one thing that can same him now." I told her, knowing what we were going to have to do next.

"What are you talking about?" Amy demanded to know.

"The siren." The Doctor answered.

"She wants him, Amy. We have to release her." I said, charging over to a barrel of water. I pulled off the lid and in an instant she flew out. "He's drowning. Go and find him. Please." I asked her gently. We all watched as she dived into the ocean.

"What, what did you do?" Amy cried at me.

"Amy, listen to me, if he stays down there he will die." I told her, holding onto her arms tightly.

"But she'll destroy him."

"That thing isn't a ravenous hunter. It's intelligent. We can reason with it. And maybe, just maybe, they are all still alive somewhere." I told her before turning to the Doctor. "We have to follow her. It's the only way we are ever going to get out of this." I told him.

The Doctor nodded at me. "Yes, you're right. We have to follow her."

"Are you mad?" Avery called over the wind and rain.

"If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the siren take us. We'll prick out fingers. All agreed? Yeah?" The Doctor asked.

An aye came from Captain Avery and Amy, before the Doctor turned to me. "Hey, this was my idea thank you very much. So, aye!" I called, as the Doctor pulled something sharp out of his pocket.

One by one we were all stabbed with it, making the black spot appear in the palm of our hands. We all looked up as the woman appeared, singing her wordless song. We were all draw towards her, the sound of her voice pulling us in.

There was a flash of light and everything went dark.

I woke up, soaking wet, but no longer in the rain. Straight away I saw the Doctor lying there facing me. "Oi, wake up." I said, kicking him gently, getting him to move.

He pulled himself off the floor before helping me up as well. "Where are we?" Amy asked as she rolled over and saw the pair of us standing up.

"We haven't moved." I told her quietly. "We're in exactly the same place as before." I looked through the window before us, seeing the ship in the storm on the other side. "I told you we were being watched."

"We're on a ghost ship." Avery announced.

"No. It's real. Spaceship trapped in a temporal rift." I told him, looking around behind me rather than out of the window with the others.

"How can two ships be in the same place?" Amy asked in wonder.

"Not the same. Two planes, two worlds, two cars parked in the same space." I told her, not really paying much attention to what I was saying. I was rambling a little, much like the Doctor. It seemed to happen more and more these days. The longer I spent with him, the more it would happen.

"There are lots of different universes nested inside each other. Now and again they collide, and you can step from one to the other." The Doctor explained.

"Okay, I think I understand." Amy said with a nod of the head.

"Good, because it's not like that at all. But if that helps…" I said, knowing that the Doctor was nowhere near right.

"Thanks." She mumbled at me.

I turned and facer her with a smile. "You're welcome." I turned back to the window. "All the reflections have suddenly become gateways."

The Doctor nodded and picked up a bit of junk on the floor and tossed it through the window. It clanged when it landed on the deck of the wooden ship on the other side.

"Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world? Well, this time it's not an illusion." The Doctor said, a bit of a grin on his face. He really did love new things.

That was when we heard a beeping sound. "The signal." Amy realised as we headed towards the source of it.

"Yes."

"The distress call."

"Uh huh." The Doctor confirmed.

"There was a second ship here all the time." Amy still wasn't quite able to believe it, but I was. I could sense it, and I should have known, I should have spotted it earlier.

"And the siren is on board." The Doctor mentioned as we heard the singing.

He found a door and decided to open it. We all jumped back when we were faced with a very non human skeleton. "Dead." The Doctor said, getting Avery to lower his gun.

We eventually made it to the bridge, where we were faced with more skeletons. "Summer, you were right. There was something staring at us the whole time. How long has this ship been marooned for?" Amy asked as we looked around.

"Long enough for the Captain to have run out of grog." Avery concluded.

"I don't understand. If this is the Captain, then what's the siren?" Amy asked as we looked at who would once have been the ships captain.

"Same as us. A stowaway." The Doctor told her.

"Nope. We weren't stowaways, that was Toby. She isn't a stowaway either." I told the trio, getting some very confused faces. "I'm still working out the kinks. At least I don't keep changing my theory every few minutes like you do, Doctor."

"Did she kill them?" Amy asked, looking at the dead crew while the Doctor scanned the dead captain with his sonic screwdriver.

"Human bacteria." He concluded, looking at the results before showing them to me.

"What?"

I let out a sigh. "A virus, from our planet. Airborne, travelling through the portal. That's what killed them." I told her.

"Didn't get it's jabs." The Doctor added, before putting his hand on the desk. "Ugh. Look." He said, trying to wipe his hand on my back.

I quickly moved out of his way. "Oh, that is disgusting. Get away from me." I called.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Sneeze." The Doctor told her. "Alien bogies." He wiped his hand on the sleeve of her coat as he walked past her.

"Right, time to go explore and find everyone else." I said, following the Doctor out of the room.

The next room we found ourselves in was the sick bay. There were beds hanging from the ceiling, each of them seemed to be occupied with those lying in them hooked up to machines.

"McGrath. He's one of my men." Avery said as he recognised one of the men.

"He's still breathing." Amy told him, watching the man's chest slowly rising and falling.

"My entire crew is here." Avery noticed, while the Doctor and I looked at some of the machines a little better. "Toby!" He cried, spotting his son.

"Rory!" Amy called, seeing her husband. The Doctor and I were quickly running past Amy as we spotted something behind a white, plastic sheet.

"The TARDIS!" We both shouted at the same time as we both hugged it.

"We have to get him out of here." Captain Avery said, watching his son.

"Wait." I warned him, as the Doctor and I joined him.

The Doctor scanned the boy with his sonic screwdriver. "His fever's gone." He told him, before moving over to Rory.

"He looks so well." Amy said.

"She's keeping him alive. His brain is still active, but all its cellular activity is suspended. It's not a curse, it's a tissue sample." I said, after looking at the Doctor's screwdriver for myself.

"Why get samples of people you are about to kill?" The Doctor thought out loud.

"Is she really killing then?" I asked him, making him rethink what he had just said.

"Help me get him up." Amy asked. As the pair of them tried to move him, an alarm started going off. Dread flowed through me and I knew it was going to be something bad to follow.

"She's coming." I whispered, pulling the Doctor and Amy out of sight. Avery followed us and we hid behind a selection of monitors as she floated into the room.

We watched as she started singing again, and the stirring Rory settled back down. "Anaesthetic." I whispered with a smile on my face.

"What?"

"Her music. The song. She anaesthetises people and puts their body in stasis." I told her. The Doctor just smiled at me, seemingly pleased that I had worked it all out.

Unfortunately, she was heading over to Toby, and the boys father was not best please at that and stepped out, holding his gun. "Avery, no!" The Doctor hissed at him. But it was too late, he fired at the woman, and the green glow that surrounded her turned red.

The Doctor ducked out as well, watching as the woman approached Avery. She was right in front of him when the Doctor let out a sneeze. Now she wasn't just glowing red, but there was fire flowing from her hands.

"Fire. That's new. What does fire do? Burn? Yes. Destroy?" The Doctor rambled. "What else?"

"Sterilise!" I shouted at him.

"I sneezed. I've brought germs in." The Doctor said, before pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, blowing his nose, and then throwing it on the floor.

The woman blasted it with the fire, burning it, turning it into dust. Amy took that as her chance to get to her husband. "Amy, stop. Don't interfere. Don't touch him." I warned her.

"Anaesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories." The Doctor told her, walking towards her.

"Yeah? Well, we stopped paying attention a while back. When Summer told us to ignore you." Amy said, trying to get the tubes off her husband.

"She's not a killer at all, she's a doctor!" I shouted, getting Amy to stop immediately. As soon as she backed away, the woman, the siren, was surrounded with her normal green glow. "This is an automated sick bay. It's teleporting everyone on board."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he finally caught on to everything. "The crew are dead, and so the sick bay has had nothing to do. It's been looking after humanity while it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor able to sterilise a whole room."

"Able to burn your face off." Amy pointed out.

"She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast into our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form, and become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good." The Doctor said, getting more and more impressed.

Amy reached down and went to touch Rory, only for the woman to screech at her and flash red until she backed off from her husband. "She won't let us take them." Avery pointed out, wanting nothing more then to take his son away, like Amy wanted her Rory back.

"She's keep them alive but she doesn't know how to heal them." I told them all, trying to think of something I could do to help.

"I'm his wife, for God's sake. Why can't I touch him?"

"Tell her, Amy. Show her your ring. She may be virtual but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent." I told her, hoping that it would work.

"Come on. Sophisticated girl like you. That must be somewhere in your core program." The Doctor pleaded. He was desperate as well, we all were really.

"Look, he's very ill, okay? I just want to look after him." Amy told the woman. "Why won't you let me near my husband?" She asked, holding her hand by Rory's, showing her their wedding rings. Amy was almost in tears.

The siren held out her hand, a golden ring around it. "Consent form. Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility." The Doctor told her. Amy nodded in understanding and put her hand through the ring. The woman disappeared and Amy got straight to getting Rory off the bed.

As soon as she turned off his life support, things turned bad. "He can't breath. Turn it back on." I cried, watching him gasping for breath.

"What do we do? I can't just leave him here." Amy cried. She just wanted her husband back. She had lost Rory too many times already, she didn't want to lose him again, and I could understand how she felt.

"Amy, he will die if you take him out." I told her softly, placing a hand on her arm.

"Rory? Rory, wake up." She called to him gently.

He slowly started to stir. "Where am I?" He asked in confusion as he opened his eyes.

"You're in a hospital. If you leave, you might die." The Doctor told him, a sad look on his face.

"But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever." Amy added.

"You're saying that if I don't get up now…"

"You can never leave." Amy finished for him.

"The siren will keep you safe." The Doctor assured him.

"And if I come with you?"

I let out a sigh. "Rory, you're drowning. On the point of death. If you leave here, you will drown." It was the truth, and I hated it.

"I'm a nurse." Rory reminded us. Amy just seemed to be confused. "I can tech you how to save me."

"Whoa. Hold on." Amy said, seemingly a little bit scared, and completely petrified.

"I was drowning. You just have to resuscitate me."

Amy scoffed a little. "Just?"

"You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR. The kiss of life." Rory told her, trying to reassure her that she could do it.

"Rory, this isn't a film, okay? What if I do it wrong?" Amy asked in a panic.

"You won't."

"Okay, what if you don't come back to life? What if…"

"I trust you." We all knew that he meant it. He meant it with everything he had.

The tears were streaming down Amy's face now, and I felt the Doctor wrap his arm around my waist and pull me closer to him. "What about him?" Amy said, glancing at the Doctor. "I mean, why do I have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?"

"Because I know you'll never give up." Rory told her softly. Amy just nodded at him as the Doctor and I walked over to Avery.

"We have to send this ship back into space. Imagine if the siren go ashore. She would have to process every injured human." The Doctor told him.

"What about Toby?" He asked, not taking his eyes away from his son.

"I'm sorry. He has typhoid fever. Once he returns, it's only a matter of time. I wish there was something we could do, I honestly do." I told him, knowing what it was like to have to lose a child.

"What if I stay with him, here? The siren will look after him." Avery asked. "I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?"

"Do you think you could sail this thing?" The Doctor asked, a hint of hope in his eyes.

"Just point me to the atom accelerator." The Doctor could help but let out a little laugh before we walked back over to Amy and Rory.

"I know you can do this. Of course, if you muck it up I am going to be really cross. And dead." Rory told his wife.

"Rory, if you die, I swear I will hunt you down in the after life and give you hell." I warned him, making both him and Amy smile a little. Amy was my sister, he was my brother, and it was killing me to see both of them hurting so much.

"I'll see you in a minute." Amy whispered, before the Doctor just ripped of the restraints keeping Rory on the bed.

Straight away he struggled to breath, and alarms started going off. We managed to get him off the bed and dragged him into the TARDIS, lying him down on the floor just inside of the door.

"Come on. Come on Rory. Not here. Not this way. Not today." I mumbled, holding onto the Doctor tightly as Amy tried her hardest to resuscitate her husband.

"He trusted me. He trusted me to save him." Amy cried as she carried on trying.

"You still can. You can still do this." The Doctor assured her. "He believes in you. Come on, Amy. Come on."

She tried again, and again. "Please, please, please wake up." She whispered. "Wake up. Wake up. Come on. Come on." She mumbled as she kept on trying.

I felt a few tears stream down my face as Amy seemed to lose all hope and began to sob. The Doctor pulled me closer to him, both of us feeling the despair and hopelessness that Amy was feeling.

It felt like we had been sitting there for hours, when suddenly Rory started coughing and spitting up water.

"Amy. Amy, you did it. You did it." Rory said to her, before hugging her tightly. Amy was crying her eyes out, we had all thought he had been lost to us again.

The Doctor pulled me up off the floor and held me tightly. We were both relieved that he was alive, that our Amy had our Rory back. Our family was completed once again.

"_You're right, they are our family." _The Doctor whispered to me in my mind.

I smiled at him as I looked up at his face. _"Feels nice to have a family again don't it?"_ I asked him.

"_Yeah, it does."_ He said, before kissing me on the top of my head and charging around the console.

Amy had not left Rory's side, and I could fully understand why. We had sent the space ship back of into space, Captain Avery, Toby and the rest of his crew were now sailing amongst the stars.

"I thought I was an excellent pirate." Amy commented to her husband as they walked up the stairs.

"I thought you were an excellent nurse."

"Easy, tiger." She said, grinning at him. "Goodnight Doctor, Summer." She called down to us.

"Goodnight, Amelia." The Doctor said, looking away from the monitor and over at her.

She frowned at him. "You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me."

"Amy, we always worry about you." I told her, giving her a soft smile.

"Mutual."

"Go to bed, Pond." The Doctor called, as we watched the couple head up the stairs and to their room.

I looked at the screen and frowned, just like the Doctor was as well. "Oh, Amelia." He had been doing a body scan, and it couldn't decide if she was pregnant or not.

"What could be causing that to happen, Doctor? I mean, what can confuse our sexy TARDIS so much that it can't tell if she is pregnant or not?" I asked him with some worry.

"I don't know, Star. But whatever it is, I promise to find out." He assured me, kissing my forehead before dragging me to my room, or rather, our room. That was where he seemed to spend most of his time now.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry for how long it has taken me to update. Thing's have been hectic with starting my placement. 1 week down, 4 more to go. **

**So, I hope you liked that chapter anyway. I have finished the next episode, so I must remember to upload it and post it during the week. **

**I won't bore you all too much. Thank you to all who have reviewed, they really make my day. So if you want to leave a review then please do. **

**Pippa.**


	38. The Doctor's Wife? Pt1

**A/N: Sorry again for the long wait. Only 3 weeks left till I'm out of school and back at uni. **

* * *

I charged into the TARDIS behind the Doctor. He was carrying a goldfish in a bowl, wearing exactly the same suit he had been wearing for Amy's wedding. "I think that's probably for me." The Doctor called, as we both saw Amy speaking on the phone.

She was standing there in her nightdress, looking more than just a little confused. I was more annoyed then anything. The Doctor had somehow managed to convince me to put on a dress, he threatened to go without me if I didn't get changed.

So eventually I pulled on a simple blue evening dress and the pair of us headed off out while the Ponds slept.

"Hold this." The Doctor said, forcing the fish bowl into Amy's hands.

"And whatever you do, don't drop it." I called to her, keeping lookout at the door.

"Hello? Ah, yes, everything's fine. Don't worry." The Doctor called down the phone, while Amy just stood there baffled. "Well exactly. Why should you be worrying? Who even mentioned worrying?" He asked, wandering around with the phone as he spoke, making Amy keep ducking under the cord.

"Just tell him his mother is fine." I shouted across the room.

The Doctor nodded at me. "She's fine. No, your mum is fine." The Doctor said, before holding the phone against his chest and looking at Amy. "Don't answer this phone. I answer this phone. Or Star." He told her, a little bit too snappy for my liking.

"Where have you been?" Amy asked him, looking over at me. I was still keeping a check on what was going on outside.

"Party. Just a party." He told her, before getting back on the phone. "Um, yes, your mum is here, actually, but she can't come to the phone at the moment. Well, she's busy." He said, glancing at the fish bowl for a second. "Oh, you know, the Commonwealth." I couldn't stop myself from letting a little laugh slip out.

"It's your son, ma'am, he wants to talk to you." The Doctor said, actually speaking to the goldfish in the round bowl. "We can't let him see you like this, well, hear you, not that he could hear you, you're a fish."

"Rambling!" I shouted, getting him to shut up.

That was when the phone started to ring again, we were rather popular. "Sorry, I've got another call coming in." He told the Prince if Wales before switching the calls over.

"I bet you it's the ambassador. And I bet you he is going to be shouting as well." I called, a grin on my face.

"Hello?" The Doctor asked, looking at me suspiciously. "There is not a bit of use yelling, ambassador." I gave the Doctor a smug grin. "Your warrior chief is trapped in my TARDIS. And until you've turned Her Majesty here back into a human being, he's staying put. Don't worry, he's perfectly safe…" The Doctor trailed off when he spotted something on the rolled up newspaper sitting on the console.

"Doctor? I don't like that look on your face. Nothing good ever happens when you have that look on your face." I said to him, starting to worry a little.

The Doctor swallowed. "Just popping you on hold." He said to the ambassador, before placing the phone down and looking closer at the newspaper. There was a squished, and most certainly dead, fly on it. "What have you done?" He asked, glancing at Amy.

"I thought it was a fly." Amy said innocently. Well, how was she to know that the fly was a warrior chief.

"So much for the slaughter of ten billion souls." I mumbled, resting my head against the side of the door.

"What is going on?" Amy cried, not having the foggiest about anything that was happening.

"We were at a party. There was a slight incident." The Doctor told her.

"As there always is with you around, Doctor." I called.

"What, so you sneak out at night to parties?" Amy asked us, clearly not impressed. "Hang on. You're dressed up." She said, looking from the Doctor and over to me. "You never dress up. And you never wear a dress."

"He threatened me." I shouted in protest.

"Was River at the party?" Amy asked.

"Oh, why would she be there?" The Doctor asked, frowning at Amy a little.

I took one last look outside before closing the door and heading over to the console where the Doctor was getting frustrated.

"Don't… just don't lie to me, Doctor. You're rubbish at it." Amy told him.

"Look, we do not sneak out at night to go to parties with River Song." The Doctor told her, placing his top hat on his head.

"He just sneaks out to parties with me." I said, going and standing beside him. "He is allowed to do that. Call them dates if you want. And we do not take River on our dates."

"Hmm, how is she?" Amy asked.

"Fine." The Doctor said, without even thinking. I quickly whacked him on the chest for being such an idiot.

"See? Rubbish."

"Oh, look, sorry, but we are in the middle of a thing." The Doctor said, taking the bowl from Amy and walking towards the doors again with me beside him.

"Doctor, Summer." Amy called, getting us to stop and look at her. "I… I need to talk to you." She said, coming down to steps to where we were. "There is a reason that I couldn't sleep."

"Rory!" The Doctor shouted, right in my ear.

"What are you doing?" Amy hissed at him.

"You've got the serious face on. I always shout for Rory when you've got the serious face. Rory, she's having an emotion." He called again.

"What? What's wrong, Amy?" Rory asked, coming into view and doing up his dressing gown.

"Why are you calling him?" Amy asked.

The Doctor just shrugged at her. "It's his turn."

Amy looked from the Doctor to Rory. "You two have turns?"

"Doctor, we have a major problem here. Bigger than Amy's emotions." I told him, my wide eyes staring at the fish bowl.

"No!" The Doctor cried, looking at the fish in the bowl. "It's the wrong fish. I've taken the wrong fish."

I quickly pulled the door open. "River, we've got the wrong fish!" I shouted out to her.

"Ah, look, sorry, you two. I've made a mistake." The Doctor told Amy and Rory who were both watching us. "We've got three hours to save the Commonwealth."

"What happens in three hours?" Rory asked, scratching his head and yawning a little.

"The pet shops open." I told him, as the Doctor took his hat back from on top of Amy's head. "Come on, we need to go." I said dragging him out of the door. Whenever we went out, we always managed to find trouble. Just one time, just once I would have liked to enjoy the evening with him and not have to save anyone.

The four of us were hanging around the console. I was still annoyed with the Doctor for what happened the other night, with the Queen, and the fish. And River Song showing up. The Doctor insisted that he hadn't invited her, but how else would she have known exactly where we were?

Needless to say, I was still in a rather bad mood. We hadn't been spending as much time together since the fiasco with the pirate ship. I was starting to wonder if I had done something wrong.

"And then we discovered it wasn't the Robot King after all, it was the real one. Fortunately, I was able to re-attach the head." I heard the Doctor tell Rory.

"Do you believe any of this stuff?" He said, turning to his wife.

There was a very seriously look on Amy's face. "I was there."

"Oh it's the warning lights." The Doctor cried, as something starting flashing and bleeping on the console. "I'm getting rid of those. They never stop." I flinched a little when he actually kicked the console.

"Oi, stop kicking her or I am going to kick you." I growled at him, as Rory and Amy headed down below.

"What are you snappy for?" He asked me, still taking things out on the console.

"Forget it." I told him, walking over to the side and leaning on the railings. I just managed to catch the end of the Pond's conversation.

"Yeah, two hundred years in the future." Rory whispered to his wife.

"Yes, but it's still going to happen." I frowned, I wanted to ask them what was going to happen, but there was a knocking on the doors of the TARDIS. "What was that?" Amy asked, as the Doctor and I just stared at the door.

"The door…"

"It knocked." I finished, slowly walking over towards it.

"Right. We are in deep space." Rory pointed out.

The Doctor followed behind me. "Very, very deep." There was knocking again on the door as we both stood by it. "And somebody's knocking."

"Well, might as well see who it is." I said, nudging the Doctor forward, hinting that he should open the doors.

He pulled both the doors opened and we couldn't help but smile when we saw what was there, waiting for us. It was a box, a small glowing box. "Oh, come here. Come here, you scrumptious little beauty." The Doctor said holding his hand out to the box.

Except he didn't quite managed to grasp it in time and the box flew into the TARDIS, scaring Amy a little as it whizzed past her. It came back and hit the Doctor in the chest, before stopping in front of me.

I reached my hand out and the box just dropped into it.

"A box?" Rory called, wanting to know what was going on.

"Doctor, Summer, what is it?" Amy called as the Doctor sat up on the floor where the box had knocked him down to.

"We've got mail. Time Lord emergency messaging system. In an emergency, we'd wrap up thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space. Anyway, there's a living Time Lord still out there, and it's one of the good ones." The Doctor told them excitedly.

"Not one of the good ones, one of the best." I told him, smiling away.

"You said there weren't any other Time Lords left." Rory pointed out to him.

"There are no Time Lord left anywhere in the universe. But the universe isn't where we're going." I told her, charging up to the console and over to her. "See that snake? The mark of the Corsair." I told her.

"Fantastic bloke. He had a snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo." The Doctor told them.

"Or herself, a couple of times." I pointed out. "Oh, she was a bad girl." I looked at the Doctor with wide eyes. "I can't believe he's out there. You know, I owe so much to him, I think we better go and help." The Doctor just smiled at me and nodded.

Then the console started sparking and the whole room started to shake. "Whoa! What is happening?" Rory shouted over the noise while the Doctor and I worked on getting everything stable again.

"We're leaving the universe." The Doctor called back to him.

"How can you leave the universe?" Amy asked.

"With enormous difficulty. Right now I'm burning up TARDIS rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye, swimming pool." The Doctor said. "Goodbye scullery. Sayonara squash court seven." There was another explosion from the console, and eventually we landed with a thump.

"Okay, okay. Where are we?" Amy wondered, pulling herself together and straightening herself out.

"Outside the universe, where we've never, ever been." The Doctor told her, actually rather excited.

"Doctor, something's wrong." I told him, feeling sick and having a pounding in my head. The pendant on the end of my chain started glowing. "Doctor…"

All the lights in the TARDIS went out. "Is that meant to be happening?" Rory asked, slightly concerned.

"The power, it's draining. Everything's draining. But it can't. That's… that's impossible." The Doctor told him, trying to work out what was going on.

"What is that?" Rory asked, as everything went even darker and silent in the room.

"It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished. Where would it go?" The Doctor wondered in frustration.

"Doctor!" I shouted, finally getting his attention.

"Star, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked in a panic, coming over to where I was leaning against the console.

"She still here, somewhere." I managed to breath through the pain.

"Tell me, what's wrong?" There was more concern in his voice now, as I griped onto the side of the console so tightly that I thought I was going to break something.

"Sick, headache, burning necklace." I mumbled to him, forcing back the tears that were forming from the pain.

He pulled out his screwdriver and scanned my pendant. "Okay, it's the link. It's trying to pull you to her. So she isn't gone, she's just somewhere else."

"Great, now can you make the pain stop?" I asked him, hoping that it would all just stop and go away already.

He looked at me nervously before doing something to my necklace. Straight away I felt the pain lessen and the sickness fade. "Better?" He asked, pulling me away form the console and into his arms.

"No." I mumbled. "What the hell is wrong with me? You know something, Doctor, I know you do, I can see it on your face."

"We'll talk about it later, I promise. Now, do you want to go and find your cousin?" He asked me, kissing the top of my head lightly. _"I promise, everything will be fine."_

"I guess we better go outside then. He always was good at getting himself into trouble. Must be a family trait." I told them all, dragging the Doctor with me to the door.

He pulled it open and we cautiously stepped out, before Amy and Rory followed us. "So what kind of trouble is your friend in?" Amy asked.

"He was in a bind. A bit of a pickle. Sort of distressed." The Doctor told her, looking around at the different scrap we could see all around us.

"Ah, you can't just say you don't know." Amy teased.

"Amy, it's my cousin. It could be a number of things. Like I said, trouble seemed to follow my family. My trouble is this thing holding onto my hand." I said, tugging the Doctor a little. He didn't get angry or annoyed, he just smiled at me, which didn't seem right to me at all.

"But what is this place? The scrap yard at the end of the universe?" Rory asked.

"Not end of, outside of." The Doctor corrected him.

"How can we be outside of the universe? The universe is everything." Mr Pond protested as we carried on walking around the area.

"Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside." The Doctor said, his arm thrown over Rory's shoulders.

"Okay."

"But it's nothing like that." I pointed out as the Doctor stopped in front of the TARDIS.

"Completely drained. Look at her." He complained, looking at the blue box.

"Wait, so we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of a bigger bubble universe." Amy questioned, trying to make sense of it all.

"Yeah. No. But if it helps, yes. This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here. Now, this place. What do we think, eh? Gravity's almost Earth normal, air's breathable, but it smells like…" The Doctor rambled, trying to work out exactly where we were.

"Armpits." My red haired friend suggested. I had to nod in agreement with her.

"What about all this stuff?" Rory asked, looking at the junk surrounding us some more. "Where did this come from?"

"Well, there's a rift. Now and then stuff gets sucked through it. Not a bubble, a plughole. The universe has a plughole and we've just fallen down it." The Doctor answered. But something told me there was a lot more to it than just that.

"Thief! Thief!" A woman cried as she ran towards us. "You're my thief! And you're my sister!" She called, pointing at me.

"She's dangerous! Guard yourself." Someone behind the woman who was charging for us called out.

The woman grabbed hold of the Doctor. "Look at you. Goodbye. No, not goodbye. What's the other one?" She asked, acting completely mental. But there was something familiar about her, I was just getting a feeling that I knew her from somewhere.

That was when she turned to me. "Oh look, it's you. Except it's not you." She told me, before giggling and being pulled back by someone.

"Watch out. Careful. Keep back from her. Welcome, strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person." A man said, helping keep the mad woman back.

"Why am I a thief? What have I stolen?" The Doctor asked, gripping my hand tightly.

"Me. You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh, tenses are difficult, aren't they?" She said. My eyes widened as something clicked in my head, but it just didn't seem possible.

"Oh, well, we are sorry my dove. She's off her head. They call me Auntie." The older woman who had been chasing her said while the man one played with Amy's hair.

"And I'm Uncle. I'm everybody's uncle." The man introduced himself as, shaking hands with the Doctor. I kept my eyes focused on the woman who seemed to have more energy then she knew what to do with. "Just keep back from this one. She bites."

"Do I? Excellent." The woman said, rushing over to me, she gave me a sad look before biting the Doctor's ear. I felt the pain a little as he cried out in pain. "Biting's excellent. It's like kissing, only there's a winner."

"Sorry. She's doolally." Uncle told us all.

"No, I'm not doolally. I'm… I'm… it's on the tip of my tongue. I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here you." She came straight at me and tried to grab my face. I quickly ran and hid behind Amy and Rory while Auntie and Uncle tried to stop her.

"No, Idris, no." Auntie called.

"Oh, but now you're angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you angry." The woman, Idris, said to the Doctor before turning to face me. "You're still you. You're still my sister." She told me, making me frown a little.

"Sorry? The little what? Boxes?" The Doctor asked, feeling completely and utterly lost.

"Oh, ho, no. Your chin is hilarious." She said, poking fun at the Doctor. "It means the smell of dust after rain." Idris said suddenly, looking at Rory.

"What does?" Rory asked, as I came out from behind him and made my way back over to the Doctor.

"Petrichor."

Now it was Rory's turn to be confused. "But I didn't ask."

"Not yet. But you will." Idris told him.

"No. No, Idris. I think you should have a rest." Auntie told her.

"Rest, yes, yes, good idea." Idris said. "I'll just see if there's an off switch." The next thing any of us knew, she collapsed, the Doctor and Rory only just managing to catch her.

"Is that it? She dead now?" Uncle asked. "So sad."

"No, she's still breathing." Rory said, checking the woman over.

"Nephew, take Idris somewhere she can not bite people." I turned around and saw a creature I had seen in the Doctors memories, except this one had green eyes.

"Oh, hello!" The Doctor called when he spotted him as well.

"Doctor, what is that?" Amy asked, a little freaked out.

"Oh, no, it's all right. It's an Ood. Oods are good. Love an Ood. Hello, Ood. Can't you talk?" He looked at the plastic ball clipped to the Oods clothing. "Oh, I see, it's damaged. May I?" The Ood nodded and straight away the Doctor was looking at the ball. "Might just be on the wrong frequency."

"Nephew was broken when he came here. Why, he was half dead." Auntie told us. "House repaired him. House repaired all of us."

A few seconds later, a voice I knew so well was ringing through the air. _"If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them I'm still alive. I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet." _But it wasn't just the once voice, there were so many, all of them calling out for help.

"What was that? Was that him?" Rory asked, as the Ood's speech orb went off.

"No, no. It's picking up something else. But that's… that's not possible." The Doctor said, looking at me. We both had wide eyes, neither of us could believe what we had just heard. In all the noise, I could have sworn I had heard my fathers voice as well.

"That's… that's…" I didn't really know what to say.

"Who else is here?" Tell me. Show me. Show me!" The Doctor ordered, looking at Auntie and Uncle.

"Just what you see. Just the four of us, and the House. Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere she where she can't hurt nobody?" Auntie asked the green eyes Ood.

"The House?" I asked her. "What's the House?"

"House is all around you, my sweets." The woman told us while Uncle jumped up and down. There was something about her that I just didn't trust, I couldn't. "You are standing on him. This is the House. This world. Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet him?" Rory repeated, making sure he had heard right.

The Doctor smiled at me a little. He knew how I was feeling, and I was just getting so anxious. "We'd love to." He said, taking hold of my hand tightly.

"This way. Come, please come." Uncle said, as he and Auntie started walking forwards.

We hung back a little and spoke with Amy and Rory. "What' wrong? What were those voices?" Amy asked us in a whisper.

"Time Lords. It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by, there are lots and lots of Time Lords." The Doctor told her.

"Which makes me wish to be here even less. Doctor, did you hear…" I trailed off, not wanting it to be true, hoping that it wasn't really who I thought it was.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to me, squeezing my hand a little. That just confirmed what I had heard.

We wasted no time in following into some part of a spaceship. "Come. Come, come. You can see the House and he can look at you, and he…" Uncle said.

The Doctor and I both looked down the grating in on the floor. "I see. This asteroid is sentient." He mumbled.

"We walk on his back, breath his air, eat his food." Auntie said.

"Smell its armpits." Amy whispered, making me giggle a little.

"_And do my will."_ A voce rang out, speaking through Auntie and Uncle. _"You are most welcome, travellers." _

"Doctor, that voice. That's the asteroid talking?" Amy asked.

"Yes. So you're like a sea urchin. Hard outer surface, that's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside, that's you." The Doctor said.

"_That is correct, Time Lord." _House replied.

"Ah, so you've met Time Lords before?" I asked. I had to stop my nerves from getting the better of me, I was worried about everything.

"_Many travellers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break."_

The Doctor looked at me, he was worried as well. "So there are Time Lords here, then?" He asked the House.

"_Not any more, but there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by." _

"Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS." The Doctor told him, making me frown a little. _"I don't want him to know you are as well."_ He told me, hearing what I was thinking.

"_A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will."_ The House told us.

"We're not actually going to stay here, are we?" Rory asked, a worried look on his face.

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet. Literally. Mind if we poke around a bit?" The Doctor asked Auntie.

"You can look all you want. Go. Look." Auntie replied before looking at Amy. "House loves you." She said, playing with her hair.

"Come on then, gang. We're just going to… er… see the sights." The Doctor said, tugging at my hand and pulling me along with him.

"_Theta, I don't like this, I really, really don't like this."_ I told him.

"_Hey, it's okay, just calm down. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." _

"Thief! Sister!" We heard a woman shout. "Thief! Sister!"

We stopped walking and the Doctor shushed Amy and Rory, only Rory didn't seem to understand. "So, as soon as the TARDIS is refuelled, we go, yeah?" He asked.

"No. There are Time Lords here. We heard them, and they need us." The Doctor told him firmly.

"You told me about your people, you told me what you did." Amy said. It was true, the Doctor and I had told her so much about what had happened back at home. I had even told her some of the things that had happened to me, I have even told her about Joneu before I had told the Doctor.

"Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones and we can save them." The Doctor said, kissing the top of my head to try and help me relax.

But it was far from working. "Save my cousin, yes. Save someone else we both heard, I'd rather not." I mumbled.

"And then you tell them you destroyed the others?" Amy asked him.

"I can explain. Tell them why I had to." The Doctor protested. Now it was my turn to try and reassure him.

"You want to be forgiven."

"Don't we all?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"I forgive you. I'll always forgive you." I told him, reaching up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Amy…" I said, turning to face her.

"What do you need from me?" She asked, knowing that I was going to ask something of her.

"The Doctor's screwdriver." I told her.

"I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket." He finished, knowing I didn't like what was happening.

"You're wearing your jacket." Rory pointed out.

"My other jacket."

"You have two of those?"

I smiled a little. "No, he has several."

"Okay, I'll get it. But Doctor, Summer, listen to me. Don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes." Amy told us, before tossing her phone to the Doctor.

"Yes, boss." The Doctor said as he caught it.

"I'll call you from the TARDIS. Rory, look after them." She said, before heading off.

"Rory, look after her." He instantly knew what I was saying and went after Amy.

We both watched him go and we started walking forwards again. "Doctor, there is so much about this place that is wrong. Auntie and Uncle, that woman, Idris. If there are more Time Lords here, then where the hell are they?" I asked him.

"I don't know, but we'll find out. They have to be here somewhere."

A short time later, Amy's phone started ringing. _"Hey, we're here. Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?"_ Amy asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, it's around somewhere. Have a good look." He said, as I glanced at the screwdriver that was in his hand.

He ended the call and I just looked at him. "Safe?"

The Doctor nodded at me. "Safe." Amy and Rory were now locked in the TARDIS. Neither of us thought it was safe for them to be out there, so we done what we thought was best.

"Come on. Where are you? Now, where are you all?" The Doctor asked as we searched around some more for the long lost Time Lords. "Where are you?" He pulled back a curtain, revealing a small alcove.

"Well, they can't all be in here." I said, looking at the size of it. There was barely enough space for the Doctor and I to stand in there.

That was when we heard it, more chattering. We both turned and looked at a cupboard, and the Doctor slowly opened it. I felt my hearts drop when I saw the mass of boxes in there. It was full of them, just like the one that came knocking on the TARDIS doors.

The Doctor and I both spotted Auntie and Uncle come and stand behind us. "Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection. Nice job. Brilliant Job." The Doctor said. "Really thought we had some friends here, but this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the long dead. How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me. What happened to them all?" The Doctor asked, trying to keep himself calm.

"House. House is kind and he is wise." Auntie told us.

"House repairs you when you break. Yes, I know. But how does he mend you?" The Doctor asked before looking at Uncle. "You've got the eyes of a twenty year old." He told him.

"Thank you."

"No. Oh, no. I mean literally. Your eyes are thirty years younger than the rest of you. Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than your left, and how's your dancing?" The Doctor asked him. "Because you've got two left feet."

"Patchwork people." I said quietly.

The Doctor squeezed my hand tightly. "You've been repairs and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you. I had an umbrella like you once." He said, slapping his hand on Auntie's arm.

"Oh, now, it's been a great arm for me, this." She said, showing it off to us.

I thought I was going to be sick. There, on her arm, was the snake tattoo that my cousin always used to have. "Corsair…" I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I thought that maybe, just maybe, someone kind from my family had survived. It turned out I was completely wrong.

"He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle?" Auntie said, glancing at the patchwork man beside her.

"Big fellow."

"I got the arm and then Uncle got the spine and the kidneys." She told us, making me want to throw up even more.

"Kidneys." Uncle confirmed.

"You gave me hope, and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me. Basically, run." The Doctor spat at them.

"Poor Time Lord. Too late. House is too clever." Uncle told us, before dashing off with Auntie.

"_They killed him, and cut him up."_ I whispered to the Doctor, not finding the strength to use my voice.

He didn't say a word, he just wrapped his arms around me tightly and held me close to him. He didn't let me go until he reached into his pocket to pull out the phone that was ringing again.

"_No sonic screwdriver. Also the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you liked to us."_ Amy said.

"Time Lord stuff. Needed you out of the way." He told her, still keeping his arm around me and holding me close.

"_What, we're not good enough for your smart new friends?" _She retorted. It was clear that she was less than happy with what we had done to her and Amy, but it was for their safety.

"The boxes will make you angry." I whispered. "Doctor, how could she know?" I asked him.

"_Summer, what are you talking about?" _Amy asked having heard what I said to the Doctor.

"Stay put. Stay exactly where you are." The Doctor told her, as we started to make our way around the place to find that woman again.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you guys liked it. I didn't want to change the title of the episode, that would have just spoiled it all. **

**Anyway, it's not just the Doctor that get's to talk to the old girl, Summer will as well. But it's not as emotional for her as it is for the Doctor. **

**Don't want to bore you all too much, so remember to review, they make me smile. And thank you to all those who have reviewed. Also a thank you to those who have favourited/followed the story. **

**Pippa.**


	39. The Doctor's Wife? Pt2

**A/N: Okay guys, I am so sorry for the lack of updates, but I am now finished working in school until June. So Things should start getting better. Here's the next chapter. **

* * *

"How did you know about the boxes? You said they'd make me angry. How did you know?" The Doctor asked her, when we finally found her in a cage.

"Ah, it's my thief and sister." She said happily.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked her, still keeping a tight grip on me. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to let me go for anything in the world at the moment, and I didn't care.

"It's about time."

"I don't understand. Who are you?" He asked her again, not getting a straight answer from her.

"Do you not know me? Just because they put me in here?" She asked, gesturing around her.

"They said you were dangerous." I told her, looking at her in confusion. There really was something about her, something so familiar. I could feel it, I just couldn't for the life of me work it out. My first theory, I had thrown that out of the window for being too ridicules.

"Not the cage, stupid. In here." She said, touching both sides of her head. "They put me in here. I'm the… oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go…" The woman made the sound of the TARDIS and instantly I knew and believed her. So, maybe my first theory wasn't as stupid as I thought.

"The TARDIS?" The Doctor said, clearly not believe her.

"Time and relative dimension in space." The woman said. "Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me. I'm the TARDIS."

"No you're not. You're bitey mad lady." The Doctor protested, while I just stared at the woman. "The TARDIS is all up and downy stuff in a big blue box."

"Yes, that's me. A type 40 TARDIS." She said, hanging onto the bars of the cage. "I was already a museum piece when you were both young, and the first time you touched my console you said…"

"I said you were the second most beautiful thing I had ever known." The Doctor said quietly.

"Then you stole me. And I stole you." She said. "And you became my sister." The woman reached through the bars and touched me, the pendant hanging from my chain instantly started to glow.

"I borrowed you." The Doctor said, not looking at the woman or me.

"Borrowed implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?" She asked, making me laugh a little.

"You're the TARDIS?" He asked, finally turning around.

"Yes."

"Our TARDIS?" He asked, taking a hold of me again. I don't think he even realised that he had let me go in the first place.

"My Doctor and Star. Oh, we have now reached the point in the conversation where you open the lock." She said, and instantly the Doctor had his screwdriver in his hand and sonicked the lock open. "Are all people like this?" She asked, after stepping out of the cage.

"Like what?" I asked her, as the Doctor watched her closely.

"So much bigger on the inside."

I let a grin spread across my face. "You can talk."

She smiled back at me. "I'm… oh, what is that word? It's so big and complicated. It's so sad."

"But why? Why pull the living soul from the TARDIS and pop it into a tiny human head? What does it want you for?" The Doctor asked her.

"Oh, it doesn't want me." She told the Doctor.

"How do you know?" I asked her, a frown on my face.

"I don't know. It's something I heard him say." She replied.

"When?"

"In the future." I wanted to let out a groan, but managed to hold it in.

"House eats TARDISes?" The Doctor asked.

"There you go. What are fish fingers?"

"When do I say that?" Even the Doctor was completely confused now as well.

"Any second."

"Of course." The Doctor said, it finally hitting him. "House feeds on rift energy and TARDISes are bursting with it. And not raw, all lovely and cooked. Processed food. Mmm, fish fingers."

"Do fish have fingers?" She asked, looking at me. I wanted to laugh, but something told me it really wasn't the time.

"But you can't eat a TARDIS, it would destroy you. Unless… unless…" I could see the cogs in the Doctor's brain working over time as he tried to work it out.

"Unless you deleted the TARDIS matrix first." She told us both.

"So it deleted you." The Doctor said, looking at her again. This was all completely new, to both of us.

"But House can't just delete a TARDIS' consciousness. That would blow a hole in the universe. So he pulls out the matrix, sticks it in a living receptacle and then feeds off the remaining Artron energy." She said, before turning to look at me. "Oh, you were about to say all that. I don't suppose you have to now."

I quickly turned to the Doctor. "We sent Amy and Rory in there. They'll be eaten." Before I have even finished talking he had the phone out and was calling them in the TARDIS.

"Amy! Amy? Rory? Get the hell out of there." The Doctor shouted down the phone.

"_Doctor, something wrong." _Amy called back to us.

"It's House. He's after the TARDIS. Just get out, both if you." He told her, as we ran through the wrecked spaceship.

"_We can't. You locked the door, remember?"_

"But I've unlocked it."

"_You stupid well haven't." _Amy told her. That was when we heard the cloister bell, and nothing good ever came from that. _"Doctor, I don't like this." _

We raced to the TARDIS and tried to get the doors top open. We both struggled with it, trying with all our might to get it open, but it wouldn't budge. Then the worst thing happened, the TARDIS dematerialised.

"Amy? Amy, can you hear me? No, okay, right. I don't… I really don't know what to do. That's a new feeling." The Doctor said, panicking more than just a little. I ended up slapping him across the face, to get him to focus.

"It's gone." He said, as we ended up back with the woman who was actually the TARDIS.

"Eaten?" She asked us.

"No, it left. Not eaten, hi-jacked." I told her. "Why would it do that?"

That was when Auntie and Uncle came over to us. "It's time for us both to go, Unkie, together." She said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go? What do you mean, go? Where are you going?"" The Doctor asked her.

"Well, we're dying, my love. It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off." She told us.

"I'm against it." Uncle added.

"It's your fault, isn't it, sweets? Because you told House it was the last TARDIS. House can't feed on them if there's none more coming, can he?"

"So now he's off to your universe to find more TARDISes." Uncle told us.

"But it won't." I told them, starting to get a little angry.

"Oh, it'll think of something." Auntie told us, before collapsing to the ground, dead.

"Actually, I feel fine." Uncle said, before he too just dropped down dead.

"Not dead. You can't just die!" The Doctor shouted.

"We need to go to where I landed, Doctor, Star. Quickly." Our TARDIS told us.

The Doctor looked at me, before looking at her. "Why?"

"Because we are there in three minutes. We need to go now." She said, jumping up and starting to run, only she didn't get far before she bent over, clearly in pain. "Ow. Roughly how long do these bodies last?" She asked.

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and scanned her quickly. "You're dying." He told her softly.

"Yes, of course I'm dying. I don't belong in a flesh body." She said, snatching the screwdriver from him. "I could blow the casing in no time. No, stop it. Don't get emotional. Hmm. That's what the orangey girl says. You're the Doctor, focus."

"On what?" He protested. "How? I'm a madman with a box, without a box. I'm stuck down the plughole at the end of the universe on a stupid old junkyard. Ooh…"

"Ooh what?" She asked him.

"I'm not." He said, a grin on his face. I knew exactly what he was thinking, I had actually thought if it as well.

"Not what?"

"Because it's not a junkyard. Don't you see? It's not a junkyard." I could see the excitement in his eyes now. He hand a plan, and one that I was pretty sure we could get to work.

"What is it then?"

"It's a TARDIS junkyard. Come on." He said, grabbing her hand as well, before stopping. "Oh, sorry. Do you have a name?"

"Seven hundred years, finally he asks." I did let a laugh slip out when she said that. It was true, he had never asked.

"But what do we call you?" the Doctor pressed.

"I think you call me Sexy." She said, a smug grin on her face.

The Doctor looked at me, we did both call her that. "Only when we're alone."

"We are alone." The TARDIS and I said at the same time.

"Oh. Come on then, Sexy." He said, pulling her along again.

"Wait, if she's sexy, then what the hell am I?" I demanded to know. We skidded to a halt and the Doctor whispered in my ear. "Right. Okay. Umm, yeah. Fair enough." I said feeling my cheeks flush a little.

We ran through the spaceship and out to where the TARDIS had landed, and was then stolen from. "A valley of half eaten TARDISes." The Doctor announced. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking that all of my sisters are dead. That they were devoured, and that we are looking at their corpses." She told us sadly.

I put a hand on her arm, I could understand how she was feeling. And I knew that the Doctor wasn't thinking what she was. "I'm sorry." I whispered to her.

The Doctor looked at us. "Ah, sorry. No, I wasn't thinking that." He admitted.

"No. You were thinking you could build a working TARDIS console out of broken remnants of a hundred different models. And you don't care that it's impossible." She told him.

"It's not impossible as long as we're alive. Rory and Amy need us. So yeah, we're going to build a TARDIS." The Doctor told us, a slight grin forming on his face.

"Well, you've had worse idea's I suppose." I said, looking around at all the different TARDISes. If my father had been there, then one of those TARDISes would have been the one I grew up with. The one I had known since forever, who told me she would keep him away from me.

The Doctor was quick to get started on building his console. I helped him as much as I could, but there was someone else who knew even more than either of us did about building a TARDIS.

"Bond the tube directly into the tachyon diverter." Our Sexy called over to him as he dragged a rather large metal plate across the ground.

"Yes, yes, I have actually rebuilt a TARDIS before, you know. I know what I'm doing." The Doctor called, seemingly a little annoyed.

"You're like a nine year old trying to rebuild a motorbike in his bedroom. And you never read the instructions." She told him, looking at something in her hand.

"I agree. Sorry, Doctor." I called to him, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

"I always read the instructions." He protested.

"There's a sign on my front door. You have been walking past it for seven hundred years. What does it say?" Sexy asked him.

"That's not instructions." He shouted as us both.

"There's an instruction at the bottom. What does it say?"

"Pull to open." He said, a little reluctantly.

"Yes. And what do you do?"

"I push." The Doctor called, still struggling to pull the plate along the ground.

"Every single time. Seven hundred years. Police Box doors open out the way." She said, rolling her eyes and smiling at me. I was actually enjoying this, seeing her annoy the Doctor in the form of a human. It was so much more entertaining than seeing him shout at random places in the TARDIS.

The Doctor threw down the rope that he had in his hand and stormed over to the pair of us. "I think I have earned the right to open my front doors any way I want." I knew he was getting more and more annoyed now.

"Your front doors? Have you any idea how childish that sounds?"

He turned away from us and went to head back to what he was doing. "You are not my mother." He muttered under his breath.

"And you are not my child." She retorted, just making him spin around and come back over to us. I was going to keep quiet, it wasn't anything to do with me.

"You know, since we're talking with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just want to say, you know, you have never been very reliable." He told her, the angry and annoyance radiating off him.

"And you have?"

"You didn't always take me where I wanted to go." He told her, a little calmer as I stepped over to him and squeezed his hand a little.

"No, but I always took you where you needed to go." She told him, before looking at me and smiling. "Otherwise we never would have gotten our Star back."

"See." I said, nudging the Doctor a little. "I told you it was all down to her. Nothing to do with me, it was always her."

He wrapped an arm tightly around me and kissed the top of my head before letting a smile reach across his face. "You did. Look at us talking. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could always talk, even when you're stuck inside the box?" The Doctor asked. I could always talk to her, our minds were easier to connected. But the Doctor, he couldn't talk to her in the same way that I could. He could feel her, sense her, but he couldn't have a full on conversation with her.

"You know I'm not constructed that way. I exist across all space and time, and you talk and run around and bring home strays." She told us, before her legs gave way and she almost hit the floor.

"You okay?" I asked her, holding onto her, just like the Doctor was.

"One of the kidneys had already failed. It doesn't matter. We need to finish assembling the console." She told me.

"Using a console without a proper shell. It's not going to be safe." I pointed out. Really, that was the least of my worried. I was worried about if it would actually work, and if we could get to Amy and Rory in time.

"This body has about eighteen minutes left to live. The universe we're in will reach absolute zero in three hours. Safe is relative." She told us both.

The Doctor and I glanced at each other, the tiniest hint of a smile on our faces. "Then we need to get a move on. Eh, old girl?" He said as we helped her to get up.

While the Doctor got back to dragging things across the surface of the planet, I was working with Sexy, our TARDIS, to build the console. "Can I ask you something?" I said, twisting some wires together.

"You just did." She replied. I had to refrain from letting out a groan.

"You know everything that's going on. What's wrong with me?" It was something I couldn't stop thinking about. There was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind, something was just telling me that everything was wrong.

"Do you remember the first thing I ever said to you?" She asked me as she gently tugged the wires away from me.

"In this form or that amazing blue box?"

"When the Doctor called me beautiful, all those centuries ago. I spoke to you, my Summer Star, and I told you that I would always watch over you and protect you." She was speaking so softly to me, almost the same way the Doctor did when he was worried about me.

"That doesn't really answer my question, does it?" I told her. That just told me that she knew more than she was letting on, just like he did.

"There never has been anything wrong with you. And there never will be." She assured me. "We will always find you, no matter where you. You're my sister."

That was puzzling me. "Why do you call me your sister? I can understand calling him your thief, but sister?"

There was a smile on her face. "Because you are my sister, in every way. We are connected, and we always will be. You carry around a part of me with you all the time, and you are always with me." She said, before placing her hands on the side of my head. "In here."

I shook my head at her. "You're even more confusing in that stupid human body." I told her, trying not to grin at my own comment.

"Everything makes sense. Or will make sense. You just have to wait." She told me, as the Doctor finally finished what he was doing and came over to us.

"Have the pair of you finished chatting? We have work to do." He said, kissing the top of my head as he passed.

Soon enough we were putting the finishing touches to the console that we hoped would work to help us save Amy and Rory. "You'll need to install the time rotor." Sexy called to him as he carried it across the surface.

"How is this going to make it through the rift? How?" The Doctor mumbled to himself as he slid the time rotor into position. "We're almost done. Thrust diffuser? Ah, retroscope. Blue thingy." He called, checking everything that was on the newly built console.

"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?" Our TARDIS asked, looking at a metal coat hanger while I helped the Doctor some of the wiring on the console.

"I chose you." He called back to her. "You were unlocked."

"Of course I was." She told him, turning and strolling over to him. "I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and ran away. And you were the only one mad enough." The Doctor helped me up and took me by the hand to stand next to Sexy.

"Right. Perfect. Look at that. What could possibly go wrong?" The Doctor asked. I had a million things running through my mind about what could go wrong, before I could say anything, something sprang out of place from the console and landed with a crash. "That's fine. That always happens. No, hang on. Wait." He called, rushing over to the side.

He came back hold some red rope with golden hooks at the end, the ones you see to keep people out or at a distance from something. Our Sexy TARDIS hooked the coat hanger into place as the Doctor secured the ropes around the open edge of the console.

"Right, okay. Let's go. Follow that TARDIS." The Doctor said, pulling down the lever and hoping that we would be on our way, except nothing happened. "Oh, no, come on. There's rift energy everywhere, you can do it." He said in encouragement. "Okay, diverting all power to thrust. Let's be having you." Several different things on the console started to spark. It seemed the Doctor could blow up not just his own console, but every other one he came across as well.

"No, no, no, no!" He shouted, as the power began to die.

"What's wrong?" Sexy asked.

"It can't hold the charge. I can't even start. There's no power." The Doctor called, getting more and more frustrated. It probably didn't help that Sexy was looking at herself in the mirror, pulling still faces. The Doctor caught her attention by putting his hand over the mirror. "I've got nothing." He told her, looking ready to give up.

"Oh, my beautiful idiot. You have what you've always had. You've got us." She said, taking a tight grasp of my hand. The pendant glowed fiercely as she kissed the tip of her fingers before touching the time rotor. The console finally came to life and we were on our way.

"Whoo hoo!" The Doctor cried as we hurtled through space.

"We've locked on to them." Sexy called, leaning over the console a little. "They'll have to lower the shields when I'm close enough to phase inside."

"Can you get a message to Amy? The telepathic circuits are online." The Doctor asked her, holding on tightly and trying to keep things steady.

"Which one's Amy? The pretty one?" She asked.

"Well, that depends entirely on your perspective." I told her, clinging on to the edges of the crudely build console. Sexy just nodded at me before focusing on sending a message to Amy.

"Hello, Pretty." She called, looking at the mirror. I leaned over and had a look myself, just as the Doctor was doing as well.

"_What the hell is that?"_ We heard Rory asked.

"Don't worry. Telepathic messaging." The Doctor told Rory, before looking over at our TARDIS in a human body. "No, that's Rory."

"You have to go to the old console room. I'm putting the route in your head. When you get there use the purple sliders on the nearest panel to lower the shields." Sexy called to him.

"The pretty one?" The Doctor asked, looking between me and the other woman.

"What's wrong with that? So our TARDIS thinks that Rory is pretty, I think that's a compliment to Rory." I said to him, as he seemed to be sulking a little.

"You'll have about twelve seconds before the room goes into phase with the invading Matrix. I'll send you the passkey when you get there. Good luck." Sexy called, before the message was ended.

"How's he going to be able to take down the shields anyway?" The Doctor asked. "The House is in the control room."

"Were you not paying attention?" I called over to him. "She directed him to one of the old control rooms."

"There aren't any old control rooms." The Doctor scoffed at me. "They were all deleted or remodelled."

"I archive them, for neatness. I've got about thirty now." Sexy told us as the console began to spark even more than before.

"But I've only changed the desktop, what, a dozen times?" The Doctor protested.

I couldn't help but grin a little. "So far, yes." I told him, fully understanding Sexy.

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet." He growled in frustration.

"You can't." Sexy and I said at the same time, both if us with grins on our faces. We had to keep holding on for dear life, the ride was getting more and more bumpy, as it always did when the Doctor was driving.

"Keep going. You're doing it, you sexy thing." The Doctor cried in excitement as more sparks flew.

"See, you do call me that. Is it my name?" She asked, looking from the Doctor and to me.

I nodded at the Doctor, and a grin took over his face. "You bet it's your name." He told her before we started to get tossed around a little as we carried on hurtling through space, trying to catch up to our blue box.

"They've made it." Sexy said, before sending Rory another telepathic message. "Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor."

I looked over at her, waiting for her to tell us that everything was fine and that they had managed to take the shields down. I didn't have to wait long. "They did it." Sexy cried. "Shields down."

"Brilliant. Now, how about we go and save Amy and Rory, and get you back where you belong." I said to her, knowing that the body wasn't going to last much longer at all.

"We're coming through. Get out of the way or you'll be atomised." Sexy called to Rory.

"_Where are you coming through?"_ He asked.

"I don't know."

We carried on being thrown around as the blue box came into sight. "It's not going to hold." Sexy called.

I just looked at her. "Of course it is, we just have to hold on tight." As I said that, we crashed through into the blue box of ours, materialising in one of the old console rooms. Sparks flew everywhere as Sexy and I sat on the floor of our quickly built console.

"Doctor, Summer!" Amy cried, holding onto one of the coral beams tightly with Rory beside her.

The Doctor quickly got up and rushed over to Amy, both of them hugging the other. I didn't move from where I was sitting beside who seemed to be my sister.

"Not good. Not good at all." She moaned, as I helped her to get up. "How do you walk around in these things?"

"It's going to be fine, just hold on a little bit longer. We have to stick together, don't we?" I told her, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine.

The Doctor looked over at us, Sexy leaning against me for support. "Amy, this is, well, she's our TARDIS. Except she's a woman." The Doctor said, a little nervous and excited at the same time. "She's and woman, and she's our TARDIS."

"She's the TARDIS?" Amy asked, looking at the woman in disbelief.

"And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS." The Doctor told her, a big smile on his face.

"Did you wish really hard?" Amy asked him, before looking over at me. I wasn't paying much attention to them, I knew the human body that our TARDIS was trapped in was failing, we were running out of time.

"Shut up. Not like that. I have Star, and she's Star's sister." The Doctor said, just confusing Amy even more.

"Hello. I'm Sexy." She said, as we managed to get closer to the group.

The Doctor and I both blushed a little when she introduced herself. "Oh. Still shut up." He said to Amy.

"_The environment has been breached. Nephew, kill them all." _The House called out.

We all looked around, only the Ood with the green eyes was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Nephew?" Rory wondered, trying to spot him.

"He was standing right where you materialised." Amy told us.

I grimaced a little, as did the Doctor. "Ah, well, he must have been redistributed." The Doctor told them.

"Meaning what?" Rory asked, needing in put into more simple terms.

"You're breathing him. We all are." I told him, shivering a little from the thought.

"Oh, come on." Amy cried in disgust as she put a hand over her mouth to try and stop herself from breathing in any more of him.

"Another Ood I failed to save." The Doctor said sadly.

"_Doctor, I did not expect you."_

"Well, that's me all over, isn't it? Lovely old unexpected me." The Doctor said, giving my hand a quick squeeze before walking around the old console.

I looked around at all the detail, the coral beams and the metal grating. I knew from his memories that this was the way the TARDIS was when he had been in his ninth and tenth regeneration. If I had gone with him when he had first asked me to, that would have been the console I saw.

"_The big question is, now you're here, how to dispose of you? I could play with gravity." _The House said. Suddenly my body felt extremely heavy and we all fell to the floor, none of us able to pull up. _"Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke."_ I noticed Sexy on the floor, Rory checking her over as the air was sucked out of the room.

"You really don't want to do that." The Doctor shouted.

"_Why shouldn't I just kill you now?"_

"Because then I won't be able to help you. Listen to your engines. Just listen to them. You don't have the thrust and you know it. Right now I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble through the rift, and into my universe. And mine's the one with the food in." The Doctor told him.

"_This better be a really good plan, and not a thing in progress, Theta."_ I called to him, hoping that he knew what he was doing for once. He just smiled at me, before giving me a wink.

"You just have to promise not to kill us. That's all, just promise." The Doctor continued.

"You can't be serious." Amy hissed at him.

"I'm very serious. I'm sure it's an entity of its word." I had finally managed to work out the Doctor's plan, and I had to admit, it was rather brilliant, if it worked that is.

"Doctor, Summer, she's burning up. She's asking for water." Rory told us. The Doctor and I both rushed to Sexy's side.

"Hey, hang in there, old girl. Not long now. It'll be over soon." The Doctor assured her.

"I always liked it when you call me old girl." She whispered.

"You're going to be fine, Sexy." I told her, not caring about the looks that Rory and Amy gave me. "You've always looked out for me, now I'm looking out for you." I said, clasping onto one of her hands tightly.

"_You want me to give me word? Easy. I promise."_ The House called.

"Fine. Okay. I trust you. Just delete, oh… er, thirty percent of the TARDIS rooms, you'll free up thrust enough to make it through. Active subroutine Sigma nine." The Doctor told the House, not moving from where we were with our TARDIS.

"_Why would you tell me this?"_

"Because we want to get back to our universe as badly as you do. And I'm nice." The Doctor replied.

"_Yes. I can delete rooms. And I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you, Doctor. Very helpful. Goodbye Time Lord. Goodbye little humans. Goodbye Idris."_

We were all surrounded by a blinding light, before appearing in the most current console room. The one with the glass floor and the main panels that looked like someone made them from junk in the shed. Only it was lit with a horrid, sickly, dim green light.

"Yes, I mean you could do that, but it just won't work." The Doctor called as he walked around the console. "Hardwired fail-safe. Living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main console room. But thanks for the lift." The Doctor said smugly.

"_We are in your universe now, Doctor. Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."_

The Doctor's face turned cold and serious. "Fear me. I've killed all of them."

I looked down at the failing human body that our TARDIS was trapped in. She seemed to be trying to tell Rory something.

"Yeah, you're right. You've completely won. Oh, you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways, but before you do kill us, allow me and friends Summer, Amy and Rory to congratulate you on being an absolutely worthy opponent." The Doctor said, clapping his hands a little.

"Congratulations." Amy said, joining in the little game the Doctor was playing. He was buying us more time, more time for our TARDIS.

"Yep, you've defeated us. Me and my lovely friends here, and last but definitely not least, the TARDIS Matrix herself, a living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked up into a human body. And look at her." The Doctor looked over to where I was sitting beside her with Rory.

"Doctor, Summer, she's stopped breathing." Rory said in a bit of a panic.

"_Enough. That is enough."_ The House growled, clearly having grown bored with us already.

"No. It's never enough. You forced the TARDIS into a body she she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS Matrix. Look at her body, House." The Doctor called.

"_And you think I should mourn her?"_ He asked.

"No, I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room." The Doctor said. As he spoke, I got up off the floor and walked over to him.

"You took her from her home. But now she's back in the box again, and she's free." I said, letting a smile spread across my face as the golden light streamed from the human body on the floor and flowed back into the time rotor. She was back where she belonged.

"_No. Doctor, stop this. Argh. Stop this now."_ The House cried as the golden light of the TARDIS tore through the blue box.

"Look at our girl go, look at her go." The Doctor said, grasping my hand tightly and beaming away. "Bigger on the inside. You see, House?"

"_Make her stop."_

"That's your problem. Size of a planet, but inside you are just so small." The Doctor said, as the warm lights started to fill the room once again.

"_Make it stop."_ The House cried.

"Finished him off, girl." The Doctor said, the whole room going dark. We could hear the sound of the House in the background, trying to fend off our TARDIS. He screamed, the cloister bell tolled once, and the room was lit with the golden light as the human form of our TARDIS stood on the stairs.

"Doctor, Star? Are you there? It's so very dark in here." She called to us.

"We're here." The Doctor said, leading me over to her and stopping right in front of her.

"I've been looking for a word. A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now." She told us.

"What word?" The Doctor asked her.

"Alive. I'm alive."

The Doctor frowned at her. "Alive isn't sad." He told her.

"It's sad when it's over. I'll always be here, but this is when we talked, and now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you." She told him.

"Goodbye?" The Doctor said, thinking that was what she was leading on to say.

"No. I just wanted to say… hello. Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you." She said, before turning a little and looking at me. "My Summer Star, my sister. I will always find you."

"Please. I don't want you to. Please…" The Doctor pleaded, but before he could finish his sentence, she was gone.

I closed my eyes and let a few tears roll down my cheeks. I knew that I would always be able to talk with her, whenever I wanted. But the Doctor, that was his only chance, and it was gone. I knew that there had been so much that both of them wanted to say to the other, but never had the chance.

Before I knew it, the Doctor's arms were around me, and I could hear him sniffing as he held his own tears back. Amy and Rory left us, understanding that we needed some time.

After some time, the Doctor got to work on upgrading the firewall around the Matrix, so that something like that never, ever happened again. I stepped back into the console room just in time to hear the Doctor explain why he couldn't make the TARDIS speak again. "… and then fold it into a mechanical then… Yes, it's spacey wacey." He finished, knowing that they didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

I wandered over to where Rory was standing on the stairs, after having touched some wires he really shouldn't have, "Sorry. At the end, she was talking. She kept repeating something." Rory told us. "I don't know what it meant."

"What did she say?" The Doctor asked, getting back to work on the wires.

"The only water in the forest is the river." Rory said. "She said we'd need to know that someday. It doesn't make sense, does it?" I let a grin spread across my face, it may not have made sense to them, but to me it did.

"Not yet. You okay?" The Doctor asked the man.

"No. I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse." Rory told us honestly.

"Letting it get to you. You know what that's called?" I asked him. "Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now, that's all that counts."

"Nearly finished." The Doctor announced. "Two more minutes, then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful, if you like restful. I can never really get the hang of restful."

I just shook my head. "Yeah, and don't I know it. What do you think, sis? Where shall we take the kids this time?" I asked, looking up at the console above us.

"Look at you pair. It's always the pair of you and her, isn't it?" Amy said, having joined us and sitting on the stairs. "Long after the rest of us have gone. The boy, his girl and his box, off to see the universe."

"Well, you say that as if it's a bad thing. But honestly, it's the best thing there is." The Doctor told her. "The House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two a new bedroom. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Okay. Er, Doctor, this time, could we lose the bunk beds?" Amy asked him after whispering with Rory.

"No. Bunk beds are cool. A bed with a ladder. You can't beat that." He said, before I quickly whispered something into his ear. He blushed furiously before turning back to what he was doing with the wires. "It's your room. Out those stairs, keep walking till you find it. Off you pop." He said, shooing them with his hand.

"Doctor, do you have a room?" Rory asked, before being dragged away by his wife.

A while later, after the Doctor had finished everything he needed to do, we both stood beside the console. "Are you there? Can you hear me?" The Doctor asked. "Oh, I'm a silly old… Okay, the Eye of Orion, or wherever we need to go." The Doctor said.

Straight away the lever pulled down on its own and we were off on our next adventure. I knew how sad that Doctor was that he couldn't talk to the TARDIS, and yet I could communicate with her telepathically whenever I wanted to. Maybe one day, I could do something to change all that.

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**A/N: Again, I can't say sorry enough. Thing at the school just went from bad to worse, but it's over now and I can reflect on that while making sure you awesome people get the updates. **

**I didn't want to change the title of this episode, because I didn't want it to give too much away. I mean, I couldn't really have called it, 'The Doctor's Sister-in-law' now could I? **

**But anyway, more surprises to come in the next few chapters. Some revelations when they finally make it to Demon's Run. It should be pretty awesome. **

**Okay, so a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourtied and followed. And a massive thank you to everyone who has stuck by my stories over the torturous weeks that have just passed. **

**Pippa.**


	40. Make Him Listen, Make Him Talk

**A/N: I know it has been a really really long time since I updated. Things haven't been great. Being sick, being stuck in hospital, dealing with uni assignments, blah, blah, blah. I'm so sorry to all my readers. I'm trying to get back on track now that things are just a tad better. Uni is over until September, which is a bonus. **

**Again I'm sorry for the long wait, and that this is such a short chapter. It's actually a kinda, sorta, important part that I didn't want to put into the next episode. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy.**

* * *

I was sitting under the console, in that stupid swing chair that the Doctor was always in when he claimed to be doing some repairs. I hadn't been able to sleep, and it turned out that neither had Amy. She seemed to be up just as much as I was, and it seemed like the Doctor didn't have time to talk to either of us.

"Hey." Amy called, as she came and joined me where I was.

"Hey, Amy. Can't sleep?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.

"No. What are you doing down here?"

I shrugged my shoulders at her. "Can't sleep. Given up trying now. You never know, I might just end up passing out from exhaustion at some point, but I'm not counting on it."

"Where's the Doctor?" My red haired friends asked, unable to see him anywhere.

"I have no idea. I think he was going for a swim, but that may have been yesterday." I honestly had no idea where he was, and I wasn't really that bothered about where he was either.

Amy just frowned at me. "Is everything okay, Summer? You just… don't seem yourself recently." She asked me.

"Honestly? No, everything is not okay. The Doctor seems to be keeping his distance from me, like he doesn't want to be anywhere near me. And I don't know why. Every time I ask him, he just changes the subject." I told her, letting out a sigh. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

Amy wasted no time in stepping over to where I was and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing. You know what he's like, he has those little mood swings of his."

"I don't know. I just feel like we're… drifting apart. Recently he has been keeping himself so closed off, and I just don't know what to think anymore." I told her. I knew I could trust Amy, she was like a sister to me after all.

"You want my advice?" She asked me, causing me to nod at her. "Forget about it. This is the Doctor we're talking about. He's weird, and you should know that better than anyone."

"Oh, Amy. If only it was as simple as that. Thing's haven't been right for me for a long time now." I told her, thinking back and at what had happened over the past few months.

"What do you mean?" There was a look of confusion on her face.

I let out a sigh and forced myself out of the swing, taking her by the hand and sitting down on the stairs with her. "Amy, do you remember what happened in America?" Her face instantly drained. "Of course you do, that just proves it."

"I think I'm going to try going back to bed now." The red head said, just about to stand up.

I was quick to move my hand and grab hold of hers. "Amy, please. There's no one else for me to talk to. My head is so messed up at the moment, and I just need a friend." I told her, pleading with my eyes that she would stay and talk with me.

She gave me a small smile before sitting back down. "I'm always here if you want to talk to me."

"Amy, right now I just feel so lost. You were there when I opened the watch, you were there when the Doctor found out who I really was." I told her. Amy was a true friend, I could tell her everything. She had always been honest with me, up until America.

"Something like that is hard to forget." There was a small smile on her face.

"Thing's just don't seem the same any more. I feel like the Doctor is trying to avoid me, like he doesn't want to be anywhere near me. At one point, he didn't like letting me out of his sight, but now…" I trailed off, thinking about how things could have gone so wrong.

None of it made any sense. Whenever I asked him if I had done anything wrong, he said no, he would tell me that everything was fine. He would always tell me not to worry, that he would sort it. But I didn't know what needed sorting, because he wouldn't tell me.

"Summer, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Sometimes even Rory and I need to spend a little time apart. Actually, I think it's more Rory needs some time alone." Amy told me, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I know, and it's not that which worries me."

She frowned at me, clearly confused as to what I was getting at. "What is it then?"

I let out a sigh. "It's the things he keeps saying. He keeps telling me to stay calm, and that he will always find me." I told her. "Even… even the TARDIS said something a bit strange."

The frown didn't fade from her face, it only grew deeper. "And what was that?"

"That there's nothing wrong with me, and that they will always find me. They keep going on about finding me, but I'm right here." I told her, trying to keep my emotions in check. "Why would they need to find me when I'm already here?"

"Have you spoken to the Doctor about all of this?"

I shook my head. "No, he keeps on saying that he will explain later, but he ever does. He just runs away or avoids answering me." I really had been trying to talk to him, but each and every time I did he disappeared.

"Then go and find him and talk to him. Don't give him a chance to run away." Amy told me, giving me a friendly smile.

"But he doesn't want to talk to me, Amy. He doesn't want to answer my questions. That's why he is avoiding me when you and Rory aren't around. He'll find something to distract himself and leave me sitting here on my own." I could feel the tears threatening to spill now.

"You're his Summer Star, you go and make him talk to you. Tell him you're going to start turning things to ash if he doesn't answer you." She said, gently placing a hand on my back. "Go on, I'm sure Sexy will tell you where he is if you as her."

I couldn't help but smile at her a little. "Thanks, Amy. I hope you manage to get some sleep." She smiled back at me before making her way back to the bedroom she shared with her husband.

I already had a feeling of where I would find the Doctor, and that was why I had stayed in the console room. I knew he was trying to avoid me, and that he didn't want me to bother him. He had blocked his mind so much that I could barely even sense him at all. Now I knew how he felt when he could see me, but not sense me when I had all my defences up.

It was a horrible experience. It made me feel sad and alone, I felt cold inside when he was standing before me but felt nothing from him. We were drifting apart, and I didn't know if that rift was ever going to be able to heal.

I cautiously made my way through the impossible ship of ours, taking it slowly and being a quiet as I could. If he knew I was making my way to see him, he would disappear before I reach him, or rush out with some excuse the moment he saw me. I was not going to let that happen. Amy was right, I needed to make him listen to me.

When I finally reached the door to the library, I froze. All I could think about was what if he hated me, had I done something wrong? Had I hurt him without realising it? There was only one way I was going to find out, so I griped the handle tightly and turned it, quietly opening the door.

As expected, he was sitting there on the worn leather sofa, a book in his hand. It was a Charles Dickens, one of his favourites. I shuffled into the room and cleared my throat, grasping his attention. "Um, I think we need to talk." My voice came out shaky and in a whisper.

"Ah, Star. I was just about to go and…"

"No." I told him, letting my energy flare. I was done with this stupid game he was playing. I was done with not knowing what was going on. "This time you listen to me and give me answers. You are always running away, and I don't just mean from me. You have been running your whole life, so for once, just once, stop."

He just looked at me, a slight hint of fear in his eyes. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to know what you mean when you keep telling me you will always find me." I told him, trying to stay strong and be confident, even though I was shaking inside. "Because now, even our TARDIS is saying that to me."

He let out a sigh as he put the closed book down on the table beside the sofa. "It just means that we will always find you. Like we did when you were a human." He told me, but I wasn't very convinced.

"Don't bother lying to me." I growled at him, feeling my energy flare even more. I was still in control, but if he pushed me anything further, there was every chance he was going to lose his library. "You're completely blocking your mind from me. I you won't speak to me like that if there is another option. You are keeping everything from me. I can't even feel that you're there anymore, and it's killing me."

"No, you just think it is." He told me softly. "It's not killing you, I would never do anything like that to you."

"Then why are you doing this?" I just wanted to know the truth, I wanted to know what was going on and why nothing felt right anymore.

"I'm trying to protect you, in the only way I know how. I don't want you to get hurt, Star, I never want you to get hurt."

"But this is hurting me." I told him. "Right here, right now. This is all hurting me. You completely ignore me, refuse to even stay in the same room as me."

"It's not like that, you have to understand that…"

"Shut up, Theta." I growled, turning the book he had been reading into cinders. "I am so sick and tired of all the lies. Something is wrong with me, and I don't care what you or she says. I know I'm right, something is wrong and it has been for a long time now."

He let out a sigh, and I could see the sadness and regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I never knew this was going to affect you so badly." I stared at him blankly, not fully understanding what he was getting at. "I promise you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you at all. You're still as smart, beautiful and annoying as you have always been."

"Nice, so now I'm annoying." I mumbled. I knew he was trying to tell me something, but I was starting to set into my bad mood now, and it wasn't going to just fade away in the blink of an eye.

"You keep thinking that there is something wrong with you, why do you say that?" He asked, getting up from where he was sitting and standing in front of me.

"Because… I… I don't feel like the person I used to be. Something is different. And the way my pendant acts around me, it's never done anything like burn me before. But now it has done it more than once." I told him, trying to gather everything I wanted to say to him in my head. "We made it together, it should never have done that. And you checked it, you said there was nothing wrong with it."

"So you said there must be something wrong with you instead." He said, finishing off what I was going to say. I just nodded at him. "Star, what you're feeling, it isn't because there is something wrong with you."

"Then what is it?" The flare of energy I had was fading and starting to be replaced with fear. I could feel the tears building in my eyes, ready to roll down my cheeks the moment I blinked.

"You're not who you think you are. You're not where you think you are. Part of you is here, but you're somewhere else." He told me, before gently putting his hands on my shoulders. "But I swear to you, I will find you. I will get you back."

"You know a lot more than what you're telling me, don't you, Doctor?" I asked him, trying to force the tears back. Everything he had said had just confused me even more. How could I be there, but not be there? And where was 'there' exactly?

He just looked at me nervously before nodding. "I've known for a while, you're my bond, I spotted it straight away."

"Then why can't you tell me? You're the Doctor, fix this." I demanded. My effort in holding back the tears was failing, and the first wave began to make its way down my cheeks.

"I can't fix this. Not yet."

"Why?" I asked him, holding back a sob. I just couldn't hold it in any longer.

He let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms around me. "Because I don't know how." I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was being sincere.

"Then find out how. Because I don't like this. I'm so scared and I can't even explain why." I mumbled into his shirt, soaking it with the salty water still pouring from my eyes.

"I'm working on it. You just have to trust me. Do you trust me, Star?"

I nodded into his chest before speaking. "I trust you, Theta. To the end of the universe and back again."

"It will all be over soon, my Summer Star. I promise." He told me, before kissing the top of my head.

For the first time in months I actually felt calm and safe. So much had happened since we had picked Amy and Rory up, and that was when things had started to go wrong. But now, after having made the Doctor listen to me and talk to me, I felt a strange sense of calmness wash over me.

I still wasn't fully happy, because I knew he was still keeping things from me. But I did trust him, I trusted him to fix whatever it was that was broken, me. Although he would never admit it, I knew I was broken, I could feel that I was different, that I wasn't the person I used to be. Something had changed me, and I didn't like it at all. I just hoped that he could fix it soon.

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**A/N: I cannot stress enough how sorry I am for this being such a long wait and then being so short. **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed. You guys are truly awesome. I plan on working extra hard to get to the end of series 6 now. Almost half way there. Almost. **

**Sorry again (yes, I do say that alot, but it's because I honestly am sorry). **

**Pippa.**


	41. The Rebel Flesh Pt1

**A/N: Hey guys, I really am sorry about this story not being updated in so long. I totally lost my motivation for it, as well as had some spiteful messages about it. I'm going to do my best to get through this series, and then decide what happens from there. **

**Sorry again, my lovely readers, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I apologise now for any spelling and grammar mistakes.**

* * *

I stood next to the Doctor, looking at the scanner out of the corner or my eye. Music was playing in the background as I watched Amy and Rory playing darts. I knew something was worrying the Doctor, and no matter how much I asked him, he still wouldn't tell me what it was. Even after our talk, he still couldn't tell me the truth.

The scanner was checking Amy over, trying to work out if she was pregnant or not. Either there was something wrong with the scanner, or something was wrong with Amy, because it couldn't give us an answer.

"Who wants fish and chips?" The Doctor asked, turning the music off. Rory just put his hand up like a child. "We'll drop you both off. Take your time. Don't rush."

I looked at him in confusion, as did Rory. "Er, and you two?" He asked us.

"Things to do. Things involving other things." The Doctor told them, ignoring my gaze. He knew I was looking at him, wanting answers.

"Well, we'll stay. We'll do the other things." Amy said, coming over to where we were standing by the console.

"Nope."

"Whatever the pair of you are up to, I'd personally like to be a part of it." She told us. Personally, I'd just like to know what he was up to. When I looked at the Doctor, his eyes quickly shifted from me and to Amy. He was giving her the same look he had been giving me. "What?" My red haired friend asked.

Before anyone could say anything else, an alarm started blaring. "Oh, lovely. Just what we…" I was cut of when everything started to shake and we were all thrown around the place. I watched as Rory was almost tossed over the railing and I heard Amy let out a little scream.

"Solar tsunami. Came directly from your sun." The Doctor explained as he held onto the edge of the console tightly. "A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big."

"Oh, Doctor, my tummy's going funny." Rory moaned.

"Uh, the gyrator disconnected." I told him. "Sorry, not much I can do at the moment."

"Target tracking is out." The Doctor called. "Assume the position!" At the point I knew that we wear heading for a crash landing, which really was nothing new.

Amy let out a scream and ran over to the chair, while the Doctor ran for the other one. I watched as Rory curled up into a ball on the floor, all of them covering their heads while I just stood there, holding onto the railing.

There was a rather large bump, before everything finally settled down. "Textbook landing." The Doctor called, getting up from where he was.

"Uh, yeah, from what textbook? Maybe from 'The Doctor's list of how not to fly a TARDIS'?" I asked him, putting my hands on my hips and looking at him.

"Oh… hush." He said, rushing past me and towards the doors to find out where we had landed. "Behold!" He called, having opened the door with Amy and Rory right behind him. "A cockerel. Love a cockerel. And underneath, a monastery, uh, thirteenth century." The Doctor explained, while I shut the door.

"Oh, we've gone all medieval." Amy commented, looking at the stone building before us.

"I'm not sure about that." Rory called, the wind whipping around us. I had to agree with him, there was something that was telling me it was not medieval times. I had been there, it felt completely different.

"Really? Medieval expert, are you?" Amy asked him, giving him a rather strange look.

"No, it's just that I can hear…"

"Dusty Springfield." We said at the same time. I had heard it as well, and he was right. "Doctor… you didn't, you know, accidently…" I started only to be cut off by the Doctor.

"No I did not. Why do you always blame me?" He moaned, checking some holes in the ground and the pipes that were running under where we were standing.

I rolled my eyes at him as I went and stood with Amy and Rory. "Because usually, it is you."

"These fissures are new." He said, deciding that it was probably best to just ignore me for now. "Solar tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This is caused by a magnetic quake that occurs just before the wave hits." He explained, mainly for Amy and Rory's sake and not mine. Sometimes he seemed to forget that I knew just as much as he did.

"Well, the monastery's standing." Amy pointed out, looking up at the building.

"Yup, but for how much longer?" I asked, watching as the Doctor pulled out an old snow globe from his pocket and giving it a shake.

"Doctor, Summer, look." Rory said, pointing to the words 'danger corrosive' that were printed in the unearthed pipe.

The Doctor puled out his sonic screwdriver as the four of us looked at the pipe. "Yeah. It's a supply pipe. Ceramic inner lining. Something corrosive." He said, making me roll my eyes. If it wasn't corrosive, why have the word printed in big bold letters for everyone to see? "They're pumping something nasty off this island to the mainland." He told us, putting his screwdriver back in his pocket and looking around from where he stood.

"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield." Rory commented, as he too looked around.

I couldn't explain why, but something there was making me feel a little uneasy. But before I had a chance to say anything, the Doctor was back in the game. "Who isn't? Right, let's go. Satisfy our rabid curiosity." He said, charging over to the wooden staircase that led inside of the building.

Amy was quick to follow him, then Rory, while I was still standing there, feeling like I was being watched. "Summer? Everything okay?" Rory called to me from the stairs. He had noticed I wasn't with them and came back to check on me. He was good like that, always looking out for me when the Doctor was too busy.

"Yeah, everything's great. Come on, we need to keep those two out of trouble." I told him, making him nod his head at me. Amy seemed to love the trouble just as much as the Doctor did, while Rory and I were always trying to talk sense into them.

We walked quickly to catch up with the others as they started to walk through the courtyard. The sound of Dusty Springfield was still playing in the background. "So, where are there Dusty Springfield loving monks, then?" Amy asked as the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and started scanning the area.

"I think we're here. This is it." He said, giving me a knowing look and a nod. I just looked back at him, a sad smile on my face.

"Doctor, what are you talking about? We've never been here before." Rory said, looking slightly confused.

The Doctor just ignored him and carried on looking around. "We came here by accident." Amy tried to clarify, looking at me and hoping I would be able to give her an answer.

The Doctor stopped as he was walking up some wooden steps and turned to face us all. "Hmm? Accident? Yes, I know. Accident." I rolled my eyes at him, he wasn't very good at being convincing when he was telling a complete lie.

"Ah, ow!" Rory cried, grabbing our attention.

I quickly headed up the few stairs and leaned over the wooden rails, looking at what he had touched. "Yeah, that's acid. They seem to be pumping a load of acid off the island." I told him as Amy went to inspect his hand.

"That's old stuff. Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger." The Doctor told him, before walking straight into the building.

"And three, two, one…" I said, standing there with my arms folded across my chest.

"_Intruder alert. Intruder alert." _A voice called from nowhere.

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. "Typical." I mumbled as the Doctor came charging back into sight.

"There are people coming." He told me, his sonic screwdriver still in his hand. "Well, almost." He said, before looking over at Ay.

"Almost coming?" She asked him.

"Almost people." The Doctor corrected, before running back inside with Amy right behind him.

"I think we should really be going." Rory recommended while I stood there with him still.

"Come on!" Amy called back, ready to charge in head first, just like the Doctor.

I just shook my head and began to follow them. "Worst, idea, ever." I mumbled.

"I'm telling you, when something runs towards you, it is never for a nice reason." Rory said, before Amy came back, grabbed hold of him, and dragged him forward with her.

"Uh, I agree with Rory on this one." I called, going into a jog to catch up with them all. I still wasn't happy with the way the Doctor was avoiding me, and I was getting nowhere with trying to talk to him about it.

As I reached the rest, I saw we had found a room with people strapped into harnesses. "O… kay. This isn't right." I mumbled, watching as the Doctor ran over to one of the people.

"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked, looking at the people as well.

"The almost people?" Rory wondered, looking around for himself.

"What are they, prisoners, or are they meditating or what?" My red haired friend asked. She was still as full of curiosity as ever.

"Well, at the moment they fall into the 'or what' category." The Doctor told her, before glancing at me. He held my gaze for only a second before sharply looking away from me.

"_Halt and remain calm."_ A voice called from nowhere.

I just rolled my eyes as I stood with my group of friends. "Well, we've halted." The Doctor said, putting his hands in his pockets and trying to stay calm. "How are we doing on the calm front?"

"Don't move." A man with blonde hair called as he came into the room in an orange jumpsuit. There were more people rushing in behind him, a man and a woman. They were all wearing the same clothing. I wasn't very happy with the pointy thing on a stick that they were shoving our way.

"Stay back, Jen. We don't know who they are." The other man said to her as she looked at the four of us.

She continued to look at us, and Amy looked more than a little nervous. "So let's ask them. Who the hell are you?" Jen called over.

Amy finally noticed what the Doctor and I had already seen, the people standing before us were also the ones strapped into the harnesses.

"Well, I'm the Doctor, this is Summer, Amy and Rory. And it's all very nice, isn't it?" The Doctor said.

"Hold up. You're all… what are you all, like identical twins?" Amy asked, feeling very confused.

That was when another two people decided to join us, both wearing some kind of armour, with a helmet and face guard on it. "This is an Alpha Grade industrial facility. Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble." The woman said, it was pretty clear from her attitude and the way she held herself that she was the one in charge.

That Doctor made sure to keep his face serious. "Actually, you're in big trouble." He told her, pulling out his little black wallet and flashing her his physic paper.

The woman looked at it. "Meteorological Department?" She questioned as she read the writing in it. "Since when?"

"Since you were hit by a solar wave." The Doctor told her.

"Which we survived." The woman told us, clearly not impressed with our appearance there.

"Yeah, only just judging by the damage we've seen." I told her. "And there is a much bigger solar wave on the way. Are you prepared for that as well?" I asked.

The woman just looked my up and down, a look of disgust on her face. "Which we'll also survive. Dicken, scan for bugs." She called over to a man who had entered the room with her.

He pulled out a device before looking at us. "Back against the wall. Now." One of the other men called to us.

We all held up our hands slightly and started to back up towards the wall. I couldn't explain why, but I felt like there was something there watching me, taking note of my every move. "You're not a monastery, you're a factory." The Doctor pointed out.

"Twenty second century army owned factory." I added, trying to piece it all together.

"You're army?" Amy was clearly more than a little shocked at that suggestion.

"No, love. We're contractors, and you're trespassers." The woman told us, still glaring at us all.

"It's clear, boss." Dicken told her as he finished scanning us all.

The woman just looked at us, before down at the Doctor's wallet that she was still holding. "All right, weatherman, your ID checks out." She told him. "If there's another sola storm, what are you going to do about it? Hand out sunblock?" She asked, as he approached her and took back his psychic paper.

He couldn't help but laugh a little, as did Amy. I didn't laugh, I was feeling too uneasy where we were. "I need to see your critical systems." He told her, going straight back to being serious.

"Which one?" She was hiding something, that much was clear.

This time it was the Doctor who gave a glare. "You know which one."

The woman took the lead as we all started following behind her. _"I don't like it here."_ I admitted to the Doctor. _"I don't know why, but something here is creeping me out."_

He took a hold of my hand and grasped it tightly. _"I know, but it's okay. Everything is going to be just fine, I promise."_ He told me, and yet I still couldn't believe him.

"_Stop saying that, Theta. Why did we come here? Because this really wasn't an accident was it?"_ I had decided to come straight out and say it. He had been trying so hard to get me to go with Amy and Rory, but he was not going to win on that, and I was going to stay with him.

"_Star, don't worry about it. Everything is absolutely fine."_ Sure he was trying to reassure me, but that was never going to happen.

After that I decided to just ignore him and try to forget about how I was feeling. He didn't really seem to want to know at the moment anyway, and I knew he had other things on his mind, such as what was wrong with Amy.

It was only a short walk to a room where there was a huge vat of bubbling liquid inside of it. Straight away a shiver went down my spine, and of course the Doctor had to walk right up to it. "And there you are." He mumbled, taking a close look at it. For some reason, I wanted to stay as far away from it as possible.

"Meet the government's worst kept secret. The Flesh. It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level." The woman, who we have found out was Miranda Cleaves.

"Right. Brilliant." Amy said, before looking at me. "Lost."

I could have sworn Cleaves rolled her eyes at my best friend. "Okay. Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything. Replicate a living organism down to the hairs on its chinny chin chin. Even clothes. And everything's identical. Eyes, voice…"

"Mind, soul?" The Doctor asked, not looking very happy. I also noticed that he had shut me out completely, I could sense him and feel him, but everything he was thinking was blocked off from me.

"Don't be fooled, Doctor. It acts like life but it still needs to be controlled by us, from those harnesses you saw." Cleaves told us. Somehow I could tell that the Doctor wasn't convinced, and neither was I.

"Wait, whoa. Hold it." Rory said, finally catching up with everything. He had a tendency to stay quiet until he knew all the facts, and this was one of those times. "So you're Flesh now?"

"I'm lying in a harness back in that chamber. We all are, except Jennifer here." She said, pointing to the only other woman in the room. "Don't be scared. This thing, just like operating a forklift truck."

I couldn't help but snort a little. "You said it could grow. Only living things grow." The Doctor mentioned. He really was thinking hard, trying to work something out.

"Moss grows. It's no more than that." Cleaves told us. "This acid is so dangerous we were losing a worker every week. So now we mine the acid using these dopplegangers. Or Gangers. If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid…"

"Then who the hell cares, right, Jen?" One of the men said to us all.

"Nerve endings automatically cut off like airbags being discharged." Jennifer told us, trying to explain everything a little better. "We wake up and get a new Ganger."

"It's weird, but you get used to it." The blonde man added.

Cleaves just nodded before looking over at the other woman. "Jennifer, I want you in your Ganger. Get back in the harness." She ordered. Jennifer nodded and quickly left the room.

As she did, I noticed the Doctor whip out his sonic screwdriver and start to scan the large vat of Flesh. _"What the hell do you think you are doing, Theta?"_ I asked him, still standing at a safe distance from the bubbling mass.

It seemed like some of the workers had as well. "Hang on, what's he up to? What you up to, pal?" He asked the Doctor.

"Stop it." He said, before letting out a small cry of pain. He pulled his hand back and put his screwdriver back inside his jacket. "Strange, it was like for a moment there it was scanning me." The Doctor said, still eyeing up the gloop in the tank.

"Doctor…" Cleaves said in warning, before he put his hand on the surface of the Flesh. "Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone." He started crying out in pain once more, and I could feel it, not just him, but the Flesh as well. All the pain, the suffering, everything.

I heard him mumble something, before hearing my name being called. "Summer? Summer, are you okay?" He called, coming to stand beside me. My breathing had become ragged and my head was spinning. "Star, can you hear me?"

"What the hell was that?" I shouted, clutching onto my head and pushing the Doctor away from me. "Don't touch me."

"Doctor? Is Summer okay? What just happened?" Amy asked. I could hear the concern in her voice but all I could focus on was the pain that I had just felt the moment that the Doctor had touched the Flesh.

"Incredible." He mumbled to himself. "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind, and so did Summer. I reached out to it, and it to me. Summer felt it all as well, except she reacted differently to it."

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor." I heard Cleaves say to him.

I let out a groan as the pain finally started to subside. I blinked several times to see Rory standing beside me, looking on with worry. I gave him a weak smile, just so that he would realise that I was feeling okay now.

"How can you be so blinkered?" The Doctor asked, quickly looking over at me, a sad smile on his face. That bothered me, he had been looking at me like that too much recently, and he never used to look at me like that at all. "It's alive, so alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities directly into it."

A moment later there was a huge bang and the flash of lightening shone through the glass windows. "The solar storm." I whispered, trying to get myself back together properly. Now really wasn't the time for me to drift off and worry about my own problems. "The first waves come in pairs. You know, like the animals on Noah's Ark, where the animals came in two by two." I rambled. "This is pre-shock and fore-shock. And it is really close."

Cleaves looked at me for a moment before turning to one of the workers. "Buzzer, we got anything from the mainland yet?" She asked him.

"No, the comms are still too jammed with radiation." He informed her.

"Okay. Then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop." She told him, before turning back to the four of us. "Now why don't you stand back and let us impress you?"

We all stood in the room, watching and waiting as the thick, white, creamy substance began to flow from the large tank that the Doctor had been interested in and into what looked like a bathtub.

As it filled, strands of hair started floating around in it. I was still determined to keep my distance, I couldn't explain it but the whole thing was freaking me out and making me feel uncomfortable. It was a few minutes later when a face began to appear in the Flesh and Jennifer sat up sharply.

"Well, I can see who you keep it in a church. Miracle of life." The Doctor commented, looking a the new Jennifer and rubbing his hands together.

"No need to get poncy." The man they had called Buzzer said. "It's just gunge."

I stared at the new Jennifer that was with us, the one made from the Flesh. "No, it really isn't." I whispered.

The Doctor was the only one who seemed to have heard me ad he gave me a concerned look, but before he could say anything, Cleaves began talking. "Guys, we need to get to work."

"Okay, everybody, let's crack on." Jimmy called, earning a rather grim look from the Doctor. He wasn't happy, that much was clear. If I was honest, neither was I, I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, something didn't feel right.

"Uh, hello? Did you not hear the warning about the solar storm?" I asked them, hoping that they would just stop what they were doing so that we could get the hell out of there.

"Where do you want us to go?" Jimmy, the blonde one, asked us. "We're on a tiny island."

The Doctor looked at me before turning back to the workers. "Well, I can get you all off it." He told them seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous." Cleaves said. "We've got a job to do." There was something about the woman that was seriously bothering me. Like she just didn't care what happened to her right now. She was more focused on her job than anything else.

"It's coming." I whispered, as the Doctor pulled out his snow globe once again and shook it.

That was when a similar sound to what had happened when we arrived started going off. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had noticed it. "That's the alarm." Jennifer said, looking a little worried.

"How do you get power?" The Doctor asked. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know, something bad was about to happen and no one had a clue about it.

"We're solar." Cleaves said, concentrating on his work. "We use a solar router. The weathervane."

My eyes widened as I finally twigged as to what it was that the Doctor was so worried about. "Big problem." He said, trying his best to stay calm.

"Boss, maybe if the storm's back, we should get underground." Jimmy suggested. I liked his idea, it sounded a little safer than staying where we were, although I'd much rather be back in the TARDIS. "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."

Cleaves let out a sigh. "We have 200 tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" She asked, clearly not happy that her workers seemed rather eager to listen to the Doctor.

That was when the Doctor decided to take a more direct approach, and he grabbed Cleaves by the arm and dragged her over to where I was standing on my own, away from the Flesh. "Please, you are making a massive mistake here." He told her. "You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you don't prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?"

The pair of us looked at her, hoping she would see sense. "My factory, my rules." She replied calmly, before pulling away from the Doctor.

"Doctor, we need to check up on the storm, find out it's progress." I told him, rubbing my forehead a little. I got a concerned look from him, which I just gave him a small smile. He was worried about me, but for reasons that I still didn't know.

"Right, monitoring station?" The Doctor asked.

Jennifer was the only one who perked up and decided to tell us where it was. "Three lefts, a right and a left. Third door on your left." She told us.

"Thanks, Jennifer." I told her, giving her a friendly smile as the Doctor took my hand and led me out of the room. Amy and Rory were quick to follow behind us, keeping close in case something happened.

We followed her directions and made it to the monitoring station. The whole place was shaking and the rumble from the storm could be hear where we were. Even the machines in the room were starting to spark already. "Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be a mother and father of all power surges." The Doctor told us.

"Yeah, and that stupid cock-a-doodle-do is the damn solar router that is feeding the whole factory." I mumbled. Stupid weathervane."

"What that wave hits, ka-boom." The Doctor announced, his tone showing just how serious the situation was. "I've got to get that cockerel before all hell breaks loose. I never thought I'd get to say that again."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I did, so you now owe me a trip to Pallie 12." I told him, folding my arms across my chest.

He looked at me, giving me the smallest of smiles before looking at Amy. "Amy, breathe." He told her, before going back to working on the controls.

"Yeah. I mean, thanks. I'll try." She said in confusion.

"_Just stay calm, I'll find you." _He called to me as he worked. I hated the fact that he couldn't even look at me. It was making me feel like we were drifting so far apart, that everything between us was just gone.

"_Yeah, whatever you say, Doctor." _I replied, suddenly shivering violently.

He finished what he was doing and looked at me, lightly resting his hands on my shoulders. "I promise, I'm coming to get you." He whispered, kissing the top of my head before turning to the large spiral staircase.

After getting a confused look from my two favourite humans, we charged after the Doctor. We reached the top just in time to see him running towards the tower where the weathervane was placed, and I knew in an instant that he was going to climb up to the damn thing to try to get it off.

"You know, you two should probably get back inside." I said to the pair. "It's not going to be that safe out here."

Amy just frowned at me. "And what about you? How can you expect us to leave you out here when you've told us it isn't safe?"

I let out a sigh, of course she was going to argue with me, she wouldn't be Amy if she didn't. "Because someone need to be here when that idiot falls and hurts himself. Now please, get inside, go and find somewhere safe, as far underground as you can."

"Are you sure about this?" Rory asked me. "Wouldn't we be safer just to go back to the TARDIS?"

Oh how badly I wanted to just be in the TARDIS. "No, because something is going on here, and something is seriously wrong. It may not be any safer in the TARDIS than it is in there. So please, just get inside." I ordered, pointing back towards the door.

"Be careful." Amy said to me, giving me a worried look, before dragging her husband back inside.

Once there were gone, I let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, I didn't think they were going to leave, but I needed to keep an eye on the Doctor, he was the only one who knew what was going on.

I crept a little closer as I watched him tamper with something up by the weathervane. _"You better not fall from there."_ I called to him, wrapping my arms protectively around myself.

"_What are you doing out here? You have to get inside, Star."_ He told me firmly.

I rolled my eyes, not that he could see that. _"And then who would be here to catch you, you idiot. Now get on with it, the storm is closer, it could hit any…" _My last words were drowned out as there was a massive strike and the Doctor was thrown from the ladder he was on.

The whole building was shaking, and I tried to make my way over to where the Doctor had fallen, but my head was spinning and my legs felt like jelly. It was only a few seconds later that my vision started to blur, and I felt my body make contact with something hard.

* * *

**A/N: And there is the chapter that has taken me over a month to write. It's been a little tough for me with this story, and I will finish this series. **

**Thank you to everyone who reads this story, and to those who have favourtied/followed. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed (and not the flaming type either). **

**I'm working on the next chapter right now, fingers crossed I will have it ready by the time I finished my 3 week work placement in the Netherlands. **

**Pippa.**


	42. The Rebel Flesh Pt2

**A/N: Once again, I apologise for the severely long wait for this chapter. After spending 3 weeks in another country, working still, I've fallen behind on a lit of things. But I'm back now, and already working on the next chapter. **

**Oh, and a little note, this is NOT a self insert story. Just because it's first person, does not make it self insert. **

* * *

"Hey, Star? Come on, wake up, yeah?" I heard someone whisper to me. I could also feel someone lightly brushing my hair away from my face. "Star, come on."

I let out a groan. "What the…" My head was pounding, and my whole body was tingling. "That was not fun." I mumbled, pushing myself up from where I was lying.

I felt a pair of arms around me, helping me to get to my feet. "Are you okay?" The Doctor asked me as I tried to keep myself steady. For some reason, it really wasn't that easy. My legs were shaking, as was pretty much the whole of my body. Something really didn't feel right.

"Not really. I take it the storm hit?" I asked him, blinking several times and trying to get my eyes to focus properly.

"Yes. Where are Amy and Rory?" There was the worry for them showing in his tone.

I looked up at him as my eyes finally adjusted to the light and the flashes in the sky. "I sent them inside. I told them to get as far underground as they could." I told him. "But I'm guessing there is going to be some serious damage in there, no matter what level they were at."

The Doctor nodded at me, a grim look on his face. "We need to go and find them." He said, before taking a tight hold of my hand and leading me back inside.

We didn't get that far before we ran into someone, Cleaves. "Cleaves, you're not in your harness." The Doctor commented, a hint of worry seeping through his voice. When we had last seen them, everyone had been in their harnesses, and everyone had a ganger.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. You were right." The woman said solemnly. I couldn't explain why, but something just didn't seem right to me. She had been so determined to do things here way, and now she had just suddenly changed her mind and became a completely different person? No, that didn't seem right to me at all.

Only, the Doctor didn't seem to feel the same as me. "You've lost all power to the factory." He continued to ramble on.

"Doctor, I abandoned my team." She said, grasping his full attention.

There was a small smile on his face as he gripped my hand tighter. "Then let's go get them." He said, before grabbing the woman's hand as well and dragging both of us back inside of the factory.

"How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?" The Doctor asked her as we walked. The corridor was extremely dark, and it all seemed a little too quiet for my liking.

"Not long. A minute, two minutes?" She suggested.

I looked over at the pair as we carried on walking. "I have the strangest feeling that it's a tiny bit more than that." I told them, getting the attention of Cleaves.

"Well, how long?" She asked as we stopped in the corridor.

I shrugged a little. "I'm not sure, maybe an hour?" I suggested. My whole sense of time had just flown out of the window, and I had no idea where it had gone.

The Doctor looked at me grimly, clearly he agreed with how long I had said. "I've seen whole worlds turned inside out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour." He told us, before giving my hand a squeeze and taking off down the corridor once more.

"_This place is really does give me the creeps you know."_ I called to the Doctor. _"Something here just feels so wrong." _

"_I know. But it's okay, Star, everything is going to be okay."_ He said, trying to assure me. _"It will all be fine in the end."_

A frown formed on my face as I looked at him. _"All I said was that this place gives me the creeps and that it felt wrong. Why are you going all 'oh it will be fine, it will be okay'?"_ I couldn't help but think that once again there was something he was keeping from me.

There was a panicked look on his face. _"No reason. I just meant that everything will be all right, and that we will fix whatever is wrong here."_ For some reason, I just couldn't believe him. There were too many things he was keeping from me these days, I was finding it harder and harder to trust anything that the Doctor told me.

When we finally made it to the room where we last saw the workers in their harness, we found not only the workers, but Amy and Rory as well. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as I saw the pair of them. I had been worried that something had happened to them both.

"Doctor, Summer, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?" Amy asked us as we ran over to them all.

"Don't worry." Cleaves said as she came in behind us. "When the link shuts down the Gangers return to pure Flesh." Something in the back of my mind was telling me something completely different. "Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."

The moment Cleaves had finished speaking, another sound filled the air, the sound of Dusty Springfield. "That's my record." Jimmy said to us, looking a little confused. "Who's playing my record?"

"Your Gangers." The Doctor and I both said at the same time, resulting in everyone looking at us. "They've gone walkabout." The Doctor finished.

"No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves and Gangers don't…" She trailed off as the music became louder and clearer.

I looked over at the Doctor, already knowing what was going on in his head. "Time to investigate?" I asked him. He just smiled back at me, before grabbing my hand and running towards the dining hall with me beside him.

"No way." Buzzer called, looking at the room. The music had stopped, but it was clear that someone had been there.

"I don't… I don't believe this." Cleaves said as she too looked around the room.

"They could have escaped through the service door at the back." Jimmy told us, going over and having a look at the table.

"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey."

"It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers." The Doctor told them looking at the mess in the room.

"They've ransacked everything." Cleaves complained as the Doctor went and sat down at the table.

"No they haven't. They didn't ransack." I told her, going and standing next to where the Doctor was sitting. "They searched."

"Through our stuff!" It was clear that she wasn't exactly happy with what had happened, and probably not the fact that she had been completely wrong as well.

"Their stuff." The Doctor corrected.

Jimmy looked over at the Doctor and I. "Searching for what?" He asked, trying to understand the situation better. I had some respect for him, at least he was trying to make sense of everything that had happened, unlike some of his work friends.

"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real." The Doctor told him. I could tell by the way he was acting that he was more than just a little worried, and that there was something more going on that he knew about.

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?" Buzzer asked, not exactly in a nice tone.

I let out a sigh and rubbed my forehead a little. "They feel… compelled to connect to their lives." I told them all.

Cleaves decided to speak up once more. "Their stolen lives."

"No, bequeathed." The Doctor told her. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything." He listed off. "You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?"

"I'll say it again. Isle of Sheppey." Buzzer said, getting everyone's attention. "Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all hanging…"

I was pleased when Jimmy decided to interrupt him, I wasn't really feeling like hearing everything about how that happened if it started to get a little… gruesome. "Even if this had actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them, can they, boss?" He asked, looking over at Cleaves.

Everyone else looked over at her as well. "Guess we'll find out."

I carried on glancing over at the Doctor, studying his every reaction, especially when Jennifer left the room after complaining that she was feeling a little funny. I wasn't exactly happy that Rory had decided to follow her out and go with her.

"That's me." Buzzer called as the Doctor inspected a tower made from playing cards on the table. "It's good to have a hobby. So what, my Ganger did that on its own?" He asked.

"Who taught you how to do this?" I asked him, still trying to read the Doctor's expression.

"My granddad."

"Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it too." The Doctor told him, still watching the cards. "You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real."

"No." The man said, before whacking the tower and knocking it down flat.

"Scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads." The Doctor continued to ramble off.

"_You know something more, don't you?"_ I asked him, sitting myself down at the table.

He just looked at me, that stupid sad smile on his face that I seemed to be getting from him so often these days. _"Possibly. There's something I'm working on, and this could just be the right place to find out what to do." _

I looked back at him in confusion. _"What something you're working on?" _Once again he was keeping tings from me.

He let out a sigh as he got out of the chair he was sitting in and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. It was the first time in so long that we had actually been that close, that he had held me like I meant something to him. _"I wish I could tell you, Star, I really do. But you just have to keep on trusting me and believe me when I tell you that I will fix this." _

I managed to turn my head a little so that I could actually see him. _"Are you… do you mean…" _The look on his face told me everything that I needed to know, and it was when he gave me a slight nod that I really started understanding what he was saying.

He was talking about what we had been talking about the other night, when I finally made him listen to me and talk to me. What he had said made me fall into silence and cause me to think. So he knew something, and now he was hoping that this was the place that could help him work things out.

"We need to protect ourselves." Jimmy said, as everyone crowded around the table. Well, everyone apart from the Doctor who was popping something into the microwave, and Rory and Jen who were still somewhere else.

"Are you a violent man, Jimmy?" The Doctor asked him as he carried on with what he was doing and not even bothering to turn around.

"No."

"Then why would the other Jimmy be?" I wasn't sure what the Doctor was playing at, but it was making me think a lot.

"Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor." Cleaves said, walking over to where he was standing.

He turned and faced her, leaning against the tall unit where the microwave was still on. "You told us we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact, it was an hour."

"Sorry? I just assumed…"

"Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disorientated." That was when it clicked and I realised what the Doctor was getting at with Cleaves. "Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?" He asked, just as the microwave dinged.

"Um, Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out." My red haired friend told us all.

"And Jennifer?" I called, wondering where she and Rory were right now. They had been gone for too long for my liking, and I couldn't help but think that something bad was going to happen soon.

Amy looked over at me. "She was standing on her own when we got to her."

I turned from Amy and looked at the Doctor as he took an extremely hot plate out from the microwave with a cloth. He handed it straight to Cleaves who just looked at him in confusion. He smiled at her briefly. "It's hot." He told her calmly.

Instantly she dropped the plate with the food container on it, causing it to smash on the concrete floor. "Trans-matter's still a little rubbery." The Doctor told her, before grabbing hold of her hand and inspecting it. "Nerve endings not quite fused properly."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, pulling her hand away from him sharply.

"It's okay." He tried to assure her, much in the same way that he kept assuring me.

She looked up at the Doctor nervously, her face full of confusion. For some reason, I felt a pang of sadness for the woman. "Why didn't I feel that?" She asked.

"You will. You'll stabilise." There he was, trying to reassure her once more.

"No, stop it. You're playing stupid games." Cleaves said. "Stop it!" She yelled, before turning away from everyone.

I watched the Doctor closely as he carefully approached the woman. "You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor." Cleaves turned around sharply, her face was distorted, it was no longer the face of the same woman we had just been talking to.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Buzzer grab a knife, only for him to be held back by Jimmy. "Where's the real Cleaves, you thing?" Buzzer spat at her. "What have you done with her?"

"That's it. Good, you remember." The Doctor said softly, looking at the Ganger of Cleaves. "This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn." She flinched a little as he carefully touched her face.

"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy asked, her voice shaking a little. I wasn't at all surprised that she was a little worried and scared, I was as well.

"She can't stabilise. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed. For now at least."

"We are living." The Ganger of Cleaves cried, before running out of the room, screaming.

We all watched her go, the Doctor telling us all to leave her, to let her go. He wasn't that concerned, and I couldn't help but worry about it all.

"Uh, am I the only one wondering where Rory has gotten to?" I spoke, earning a very worried look from Amy.

"Rory?" The Doctor said, clearly thinking about something else.

Amy spun around on the spot, scanning the room. "Rory!" She called, checking the room to see if he was there.

"Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory." The Doctor called.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, we need to go and find him. He could be anywhere and with any one. If Cleaves was a Ganger, then who is to say that Jen isn't as well?" I asked, getting worried looks from everyone in the room.

We charged through the monastery in search of our missing Pond, only to be stopped when we came across an acid spillage. There was no way we were going to be able to get past that.

"Explosion must've ruptured the acid feeds." Jimmy told us, looking at the puddles that were growing on the floor. "We're going to need the acid suits."

"There isn't time." I told them, almost being drawn to the acid. Something was telling me to get closer to it, to touch it.

That was when I felt a strong pair of arms pull me at the waist. "Stay back. Come on, back, back, back." The Doctor called, pulling me further and further away from the pool of acid. He gave me a concerned look at we made our way to the last place we knew Rory was going with Jen. _"What were you doing?"_ He asked me.

"_Nothing, I was… I was just… I don't know. I wasn't thinking properly."_ I admitted. I really couldn't explain what it was, or why I was drawn in to touch the acid that I knew was dangerous.

"Rory?" Amy called, as we reached the washroom where we hoped to find the missing pair. Only he wasn't there, but the hole in the wall made us think.

"Of course, Jennifer's a Ganger too. Just like you thought, Summer." The Doctor said, looking over at me.

"Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent." Amy recalled, feeling scared and worried for her husband.

I let out a sigh. "He also said that they were angry, and scared." Angry and scared, never a good combination, it always results in someone being hurt.

"And early technology, is what you said." Jimmy said to the Doctor, as we both looked at the smashed mirror above the sink. "You seem to know something about the Flesh."

In the mirror, our eyes locked. "Do you? Doctor? Summer?" Amy asked, coming over to where we were standing.

The Doctor slowly turned around and gave Amy the same look he had been giving me. He knew something, there was so much that he knew that he wasn't telling me. But now I realised that it didn't just involve me, it involved our Amy as well.

"You're no weather man." Jimmy said, breaking the silence. "Why are you really here?"

The Doctor suddenly broke out of the little trance he seemed to be in. "I have to talk to them. I can fix this."

"_Like you can fix me?" _I whispered to him, without even thinking about it. He just looked at me, before grasping my hand tightly once more and dragging me up the stairs with him. Amy and Jimmy were quickly behind us.

"Wait. What's going on? Where's the real Jennifer?" Jimmy called as we reached the corridor.

We didn't get very far as we were blocked by yet another acid leak. "It is too dangerous out here with acid leaks." The Doctor told us, which was pretty pointless because we already knew that.

"We have to find Rory." I could hear the desperation in Amy's voice now.

The Doctor just stopped and looked at her. "Yes. I'm going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together, okay? No more wandering off." He looked directly at Amy at that point, pointing a finger at her. _"And the same goes for you, as well."_ I called to me.

"And what about Rory?" Amy asked, just wanting to find him.

"It's safer to look for Rory, and Jennifer, with the TARDIS." I told her. "That's why the Doctor is going to go back to the TARDIS, find them, and get us all out of here." I said, glancing over at him. He avoided looking me in the eyes, that was nothing new.

Amy and I both watched as he turned down the corridor and out of sight. I was getting a little more annoyed with him now, he didn't even bother to say goodbye before running off.

"Here we go." Jimmy called, heading over onto the metal box on the wall. "Distress flares." He pulled them out and closed the door, only to take a step back in surprise when he saw the Doctor leaning against the wall.

"Exit?" He queried.

Jimmy let out a sigh. "Keep going straight. Can't miss it. But you're never going to get your vehicle in here."

A smile formed on the Doctor's face. "I'm a great parker."

"That's debatable." I called to him, as he once more vanished from our sight and I walked over to where Amy was looking down at the pools of acid.

"We really need those acid suits." Jimmy reminded us. "I've sent Buzzer and Dicken to get them."

"Fine and dandy. I'm just going to find my husband. So cheers." She said, backing up a little down the corridor.

Jimmy just looked at her, unable to believe what she was suggesting. "Amy, I wouldn't…"

"Nor would I. What can you do, eh?" She said, before running off and away from us.

"At least wait for an acid suit." Jimmy called after her. But it was no use, when Amy had her mind set on something, she was set on it. She wasn't going to stop until she had found her husband, and I didn't blame he.

"Waist of time, Jimmy. She's stubborn, that one, and very good at getting into trouble. So, I better go and keep an eye on her." I told him, before following the path that Amy had taken. It wasn't much fun trying to dodge the acid that was pooling all over the ground. "Hey, wait up, Pond!" I shouted, jumping over a small puddle to get to her.

She turned back and looked at me, giving me a smile. "We have to find Rory, Summer." She said, panic still evident in her voice.

"I know, and we will, Amy. I promise you, we will find him. Something tells me that Jennifer's Ganger isn't out to hurt him." I said, earning a very confused look from my red haired friend.

"What makes you say that?" She asked, as we carried on walking again, being very careful of where we were stepping.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling that I have. None of this is their fault, they didn't ask for people to pour their lives and souls into them. They didn't ask to be brought to life, but they were, and life is a gift." I told her, getting the strange feeling that we were both being watched.

"So, you think they're harmless, just like the Doctor?"

I shrugged my shoulders a little. "When people are scared and confused, they can get violent. Everyone deserves a chance, Amy, everyone."

She let out a sigh as she linked her arm through mine. "I know, you're right. I just hope that we find him soon."

"We will find him, Amy. And he will be perfectly fine." I assured her.

After a while we were faced with a large door at the end of the corridor. "Rory?" Amy called as we slowly walked towards it. "Rory?" I opened the door and it creaked open.

Both Amy and I peeked inside the dark room, there was no sight of Rory but there was something else at the end. There was a woman, a woman with an eye patch, just staring straight at us. The gap in the wall suddenly slid closed like a hatch and Amy and I backed up, slamming the door closed.

"What the hell was that?" I mumbled, while Amy tried to calm her breathing.

"Amy, Summer!" Someone called, making us both turn around.

Amy's eyes went wide as she saw her husband standing there. "You're okay. What happened?" She went to rush over to him only for Jennifer's Ganger to slowly step out from behind him.

"She needs protecting." Rory told us, just as Buzzer and Dicken appeared at the other end of the corridor.

"Jen?"

"No, it's a Ganger." Amy clarified. "Rory, listen…"

"No, you listen. Nobody touches her." Rory ordered, holding out his lamp, trying to look threatening. I respected him for actually accepting that the Gangers were alive, and that he wasn't ready to take them down at the first sight like everyone else seemed to be.

"Okay, we all need to head to the dining hall. That's where the Doctor wanted us, so that is where we are going to go. Got it? Good." I said, walking past Amy, Rory and Jennifer's Ganger.

Only, Buzzer and Dicken didn't seem too happy to be taking orders from me. "Who put you in charge?" Buzzer called at me.

I stopped and rolled my eyes. "You want to take charge? Go ahead. What's your plan? How are you going to get everyone out of here? How are you going to make your way through this factory, which is leaking acid everywhere, without anyone getting injured? You know how to do all of that?" I asked him, getting a little annoyed. I was getting so sick of people thinking I was useless and knew nothing. I was just as smart as the Doctor, I knew just as much as he did.

"Well, no, but…" Buzzer started.

"Exactly. You haven't got a clue about what is going on here. We go to the dining hall and we wait for the Doctor. Is that understood?" I asked. Everyone just nodded at me. "Good. Let's go then." I said, leading the way back to where we had come from.

It was a short and silent walk to the dining hall, and everyone quickly settled themselves down. "Where's Jen?" Buzzer asked her Ganger. "What have you done with her?"

The way the workers had set things up, it felt like Jennifer's Ganger was being interrogated. "I haven't seen her, I swear. But look, I'm her. I'm just like her. I'm real." She told them, trying to get them to understand.

"You're a copy." Jimmy told her. "You're just pretending to be like her."

I glanced over at Amy and Rory, it was clear that Rory was ready to defend the Gangers, but Amy was going to take a little more convincing.

"Jimmy, Buzzer. Come on, you guys. We've worked together for two years." The Ganger of Jennifer said.

"I worked with Jennifer Lucas, not you." Buzzer spat at her.

Amy decided it was time to get everyone to calm down, something that I was actually about to do, but felt better with her doing it. "Okay, let's not do anything at all…" She said.

"Until the Doctor get's here." There seemed to be an echo, which was actually the Doctor saying it at exactly the same time as Amy.

"Hello." He said, walking into the room followed by the rest of the Gangers.

They all looked completely normal, fully human. It was pretty confusing, seeing two sets of people standing there in front of me, but for some strange reason, I seemed to be able to sense what ones were the Gangers.

Jimmy looked at himself. "This is…"

"You're telling me." His Ganger replied, thinking the same thing.

"All right, Doctor, you've brought us together. Now what?" The Ganger of Cleaves asked.

"Before we do anything, I have one very important questions. Has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size 10? Although I should warn you, I have very wide feet." The Doctor said, making everyone look down at his feet. Sure enough, he had no shoes on, and it made me wonder what had happened to his boots that he had been wearing.

Eventually, they finally found something for the Doctor to put in his feet. _"So, what happened to the TARDIS then?"_ I asked him, sitting down at the table, trying to work out what was going on.

"_Uh, she's currently sinking."_ He told me, making me roll my eyes. With the acid leaking everywhere, she had decided to sink into the ground that was burning away around her.

"The Flesh was never merely moss." The Doctor told everyone. "These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people."

"With souls?" Jimmy asked, actually sounding interested.

"Rubbish." Dicken said, before letting out a sneeze.

"Bess you." His Ganger said, looking over at him and smiling.

"We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop." The Doctor told us all.

"Yeah, thanks. Too much information." Amy said, standing behind him with me.

"We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped us. We are talking about sacred life. Do you understand?" He asked, getting a few nods and acceptance from everyone. "Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers, eh? How does that sound?"

Jimmy's eyes lit up. "Can I make it home for Adam's birthday?" He asked, full of hope.

"What about me?" His Ganger asked. "He's my son too."

"You? You really think that?" Jimmy asked him, clearly not impressed.

"I feel it."

I closed my eyes a blocked out the rest of their conversation. When Jimmy created his Ganger, all his thoughts and memories of his son were poured into him as well. Of course he remembered his son being born, everything that had happened, he remembered.

"Look, I'm not going to lie to you." The Doctor said, bringing my attention back to the room. "It's a right old mess. But as you might say up north, oh well, I'll just go to t'foot of stairs. Eee by by gum." No one seemed impressed with what he had said, and I was shaking my head at him. "Or not. Good. Right. First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then get everyone out of here."

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves." Amy pointed out.

That was when Jimmy, and his Ganger, offered to go and find her, only she had managed to find us, entering the room with what looked like a taser. Thing's were getting out of hand, Cleaves was determined to wipe out the Gangers, ready to send 40 thousand volts through them, ending the lives that they had only just been given.

That was when everything went badly wrong. The Doctor tried talking her down, to get the probe from her, except Buzzer's Ganger could see he wasn't getting anywhere. He charged at her, resulting in all those volts rushing through him, killing him instantly.

"He's dead." I whispered, looking at the body now lying on the floor.

"We call it decommissioned." Cleaves spat.

"You stopped his heart. He had a heart. Atora, valves, a real human heart. And you stopped it." The Doctor spat back at her. None of us had seen that coming, none of us had really wanted to see anyone dead.

"What happened to Buzzer will happen to all of us if we trust you." Jennifer's Ganger said. What we had just witnessed had hit her hardest.

The Doctor and I tried to calm her, when Rory spotted Cleaves aiming her probe at Jennifer's Ganger, ready to fire at her. Rory jumped on her, making sure that she couldn't hurt anyone else.

The Ganger's took that as their chance and quickly darted out of the room. "Look at it, Cleaves." I said to her. "Look at what you have just done."

The woman just glared at me. "If it's war, then it's war. You don't get it, neither of you do." She said, glancing at the Doctor. "How can you? It's us and them now. Us and them." Dicken and Jimmy both agreed with her, much to my disappointment. Things ad been going so well until Cleaves decided to take matters into her own hands.

After that, we decided we needed to get to the most fortified and defendable room in the whole monastery, which turned out to be the chapel. That was where we made out way to, and we all moved pretty quickly. Something was telling me that the Gangers were on their way, ready to take all of us out.

But Rory just had to go and be all heroic, didn't he? He had to insist on going out there and after the real Jen, completely ignoring his wife's pleas and going off in search of her. "Amy, it's okay, calm down. They are not after him." I tried to assure her. "They are after us."

"Why? Why?" A voice called out in the darkness, making my eyes widen and a shiver go up my spine.

"Show yourself." The Doctor called, taking a tight hold of my hand. He hadn't done that in a while, and I griped it back just as tightly. "Show yourself."

Everyone started barricading the door. "This is insane." Jimmy commented. "We're fighting ourselves."

"Yes. Yes, t's insane." The Doctor agreed. "And it's about to get even more insanerer. Is that a word?" He asked, looking at me. I just shook my head at him. "Show yourself. Right now!" He ordered again to the darkness.

"Doctor, we are trapped in here and Rory's out there with them." Amy said, not getting any response from the Doctor. "Hello? We can't get to the TARDIS and we can't even leave the island."

"Correct in every respect, Pond. It's frightening, unexpected, frankly a total, utter splattering mess on the carpet. But I am certain, one hundred percent certain, that we can work this out." It was a voice I knew, the voice that I always heard, coming from the darkness. "Trust me, I'm the Doctor." The moment the owner of the voice was in my sight, I felt a crippling pain in my head.

The Doctor had a Ganger, his face still slightly unformed. My head was pounding, utter confusion was filling my mind as I let out a scream before clutching my head and falling to the ground.

Both the Doctor and his Ganger ran to my side. "Hey, Star, come on, you're okay, everything is going to be okay." One of them said to me, only I wasn't completely sure which one, I wasn't looking.

"The pain will stop, I promise you, it will stop." The other one said.

"What's happening?" I croaked, trying not to cry out some more from the pain I was feeling. Even the pain from opening the watch didn't seem to have been as bad as what I was feeling now.

"Well, two Doctor's…" One of them whispered to me. "I'm sorry."

"_Sidra, my Sidra. I'm here, and I will always be here."_ The Doctor's voice called in my mind, only I still didn't know what Doctor it was, and I felt like my head was about to explode.

* * *

**A/N: Bit of a long chapter, I know, but that episode has finally reached it's end. I wonder what is going to happen next? I mean, there's two Doctor's for her to worry about now. **

**A big thank you to everyone who has favourites/followed. You guys are totally awesome and I am so glad that you like my work.**

** A massive thank you with hugs goes out to everyone who has reviewed. It's because of you guys I've had sleepless nights trying to get these chapters done recently. **

**Now, you all know the drill by now, review, PM, snail mail... **

**Pippa.**


	43. The Almost People Pt1

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I have no excuse apart from the normal life getting in the way. but never mind that, here's the next chapter. **

* * *

I was still crouched on the ground, the pain still soaring through my head when I heard one of the Doctor's scream. "What's happening? One day we will get back. Yes, one day." He said, before screaming again. I could only assume that it was the Doctor's Ganger. "I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow."

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on." That was the Doctor, not his Ganger, I was certain of that.

I managed to raise my head and looking at the Ganger of the Doctor, he looked to be in so much pain, even more pain than I was. "Would you like a jelly baby?" The Ganger asked. "Why? Why? Why?"

The Doctor looked at him in confusion and I forced myself up and off the floor. "Why? Why what?"

"Hello. I'm the Doctor. No, let it go, we've moved on." The Ganger Doctor rambled.

I stumbled over to the Doctor's Ganger. "Hold on, come on, you can do this. You can stabilise." I told him softly, slowly approaching him, the Doctor right behind me.

"I've reversed the jelly baby with the neutron flow. And now, would you like a… Doctor, Doctor… I'm the… I'm the… I can't…" The Ganger whispered to me.

I reached up, putting my hands on his now perfectly formed face. "Hold on, you can do this. Just hold on, please." I pleaded with him.

That was when he screamed, pushing me away, before screaming some more. The Doctor was quick to grab me and pull me behind him, trying to protect me. But I didn't need protection, because he was the Doctor, and he would never try to hurt me.

The rest of the Gangers were still banging on the door outside while the Doctor's Ganger tried to pull himself together.

"I think I liked it better when they were being noisy." Buzzer commented after it had been silent for a few minutes.

I managed to pull away from the Doctor, and I was staring at his Ganger. I was about to say something, when Amy charged over. "Doctor, we need you. Get over here." He called to him.

"Hello." The Doctor's Ganger said, lifting his head and looking at me.

"Doctor." Amy called again.

"Cybermats." The Doctor asked, coming and standing next to me.

His Ganger let out a sigh. "Do we have time for this?" He asked.

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me." The Doctor asked him, only a little more firmly.

"Cybermats. Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves." I couldn't help but smile at him, he had the Doctor's memories. He knew everything, but there was something else, something more.

"Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us." The Doctor told his Ganger quietly, while I stood in between the pair of them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Inevitably" The Doctor replied, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I'm glad we're on the same…"

"Wavelength." The Doctor finished. "You see, great minds."

The Doctor's Ganger smiled as well. "Exactly. So, what's the plan?" He asked.

"Save them all, humans and Gangers."

"Tall order." His Ganger replied. "Sounds wonderful."

The Doctor looked at him, while I continued to stand there feeling completely lost. "Is that what you were thinking? It's just so inspiring to hear me say it."

"I know."

"Doctor, come on." Amy called. There was acid burning away at the door now, and the Gangers were trying to break in once more.

"So, what now Doctor?" The Ganger asked, still smiling away.

"Well, time to get cracking, Doctor."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Oh, shut up the pair of you. You're ego is big enough as it is, and this just is not helping." I moaned, grabbing onto both of their arms and leading them over to where everyone else was.

"Hello. Sorry, but we had to establish a few ground rules." They both said together.

I shook my head as they continued to finish each other's sentences, making my head spin just a little. "I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing." Amy said, clearly still very confused.

"That's sarcasm." The Ganger Doctor noted.

"She's very good at sarcasm." The Doctor confirmed.

"Breath." They both called to Amy at the same time, taking her by surprise.

"We have to get you off this island. And the Gangers too." The Doctor told her, while his Ganger looked over at me and smiled. It was a smile I hadn't seen from the Doctor in a long time. It was the way he used to look at me, what seemed like an eternity ago now. Before things started to feel so wrong for me.

"Sorry, would you like the memo from the last meeting?" Cleaves asked, holding a makeshift weapon for when the Gangers broke through the door.

"They're scared." I told her. "So scared and is it any surprise when you just killed one of them for no reason?" I felt like I could understand them, like I knew exactly how they were feeling. That was when I felt a hand on my shoulder, the hand of the Doctor's Ganger, and I smiled up at him.

"Doctor, we're trapped in here." Amy reminded him.

"Right, see, I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above." He told her.

"But where are the earthing conduits?" His Ganger asked.

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something." The Doctor said, his mind working and full speed. "Yes? With us?" He asked the workers, not getting much of a response from them.

I watched him with his Ganger as he moved something away from the wall to discover a grate. "Yowza." He exclaimed at finding it. "An escape route."

"Yowza?" Amy questioned, while I giggled a little. I had never heard him say that word in such a way before, actually, I don't think I had ever heard him say it at all before.

"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me." The Doctor said, looking at me and his Ganger.

"Do we tend to say yowza?" The Doctor's Ganger asked, looking at me and then the Doctor.

There was a dejected look on the Doctor's face, he was slightly annoyed. "That's enough. Let it go, okay?" He said. "We're under stress."

"And the Doctor always works better under pressure so come on, my Doctor's." I called, dragging the Doctor's Ganger over to the Doctor. "Get to work on getting us all out of here."

They both smiled at me, the Ganger Doctor more. I couldn't explain why, but his smile was making me feel more at ease than the one coming from the Doctor who was there first, the Doctor who hadn't been born from the Flesh.

We all managed to get into the small venting system, just before the Gangers broke into the room. We followed it through, and ended up out in one of the corridors.

"The army will send a recon team out." Buzzer informed us all.

"We need to find a way to contact the mainland." Cleaves added, taking the lead with one of the Doctors.

"What about Rory and Jen?" Amy asked, still worried about her missing husband. "They are both out there."

"This place is a maze. It will take forever to find them in a place like this." I told her softly. "But there may be another way."

The Doctor smiled at me, but not the same smile that his Ganger was giving me. "I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven't you?"

Cleaves nodded in agreement. "If we can get the power running, we can scan for them. Be a lot quicker."

That was when we all started to cough, the air was getting thicker, making it harder to breathe. "Doctor, you said earlier to breathe." Amy called between coughs.

"Very important, Pond. Breathe." The Doctor told her, trying to control his own breathing.

"Yeah, well, I'm struggling to."

I looked up, feeling someone's hand on my back. The hand of the Doctor's Ganger. "The Acid, it's interacting with the stone." I breathed, trying my hardest not to breathe in the horrible air.

"Creating an asphyxiant miasma." The man beside me, the Ganger, added.

Cleaves carried on coughing a little, before finding the breath to speak. "A what?"

"Choking gas." I called, before starting to cough once more.

"Extra heavy." The Doctor added. "If we can get above it…"

Suddenly Cleaves had a suggestion that would actually help us. "The evac tower. It's this way." She said, making her way through the corridor as quickly as she could.

We all quickly followed her, we needed to stick together. "Hey, you okay?" The Doctor's Ganger asked me as we stuck together.

I nodded at him slightly. "I'm okay. Just really could so with some breathable air right about now." I said, making him chuckle a little.

"Just hold on, we'll be clear of it all soon." He told me, gripping my hand tightly as we moved as quickly as we could. I couldn't help but wonder why I was feeling so much from him, and why he was being so different to the Doctor I was used to being around.

We ended up being the last ones into the evac tower, and the Doctor who had stay with me quickly ran over to the console and started working behind it with the Doctor. I was starting to get confused now as to which Doctor was which, but it didn't matter, they were both still the Doctor.

"Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked as they bobbed up and down, making me feel a little sick.

"Oh, there's always some power floating around." One of the Doctors told her. Yes, I was definitely confused as to who was who now.

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint."

Amy seemed to be getting a little anxious now. "Can you stop finishing each other's…"

"Sentences?" One of the Doctors said, popping his head up from behind the console. "No probs."

"Yes." I couldn't help but giggle at little at the sight. It may have been confusing, and making my head hurt, but it really was a funny sight. I could see how much the Doctor was enjoying this.

"No, hang on. You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?" Amy asked, making me roll my eyes.

"Oh, please. This is the TARDIS, our TARDIS." I snorted, getting a smile from the Doctor that was currently visible.

"Nah, she's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy." He said.

"No, tough, dependable, sexy." The other Doctor corrected himself.

Amy had finally had enough with the pair of them bobbing up and down, finishing each other's sentences. "Come on. Okay, how can… how can you both be real?" She asked them.

"Well, because we are." One of them said, fiddling with a device he had just put on top of where he was working. "I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah and so am I." The other one called, sticking his hand in the air as he showed himself once more. "We both contain the knowledge of over nine hundred years of memory and experience."

"We both wear the same bow tie, which is cool."

The other Doctor appeared, still leaving me in utter confusion. "Because bow ties are…"

"And always will be."

"But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren't linked up to it?" Amy asked curiously. Actually, it was a very good question, one that I wanted to hear the answer to.

"Well, it must have been after I examined it. Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created." The Doctor, who I guess must have been the Doctor and not his Ganger, said.

"Ta-da!" The other once said, making his appearance known.

"No getting away from it." Amy said sharply. "One of you was here first."

I studied both of the Doctor's carefully. "Well, okay, after the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid." One of them told her. "Now, new shoes. A situation which did not confront me learned self here."

"That satisfy you, Pond?"

Amy just looked at the Doctor who had spoken. "Don't call me Pond, please." She said, earning a frown from not only both of the Doctor's, but me as well. "What?"

"Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me." One of them stated.

"No, no I… Look, you're fine and everything, but he's the Doctor." Amy said, trying to defend herself. "No offence. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all." He said, a clearly not happy with what Amy had just said to him.

"Don't overreact." Amy said, in not a very nice way either.

"You might as well call me Smith." He said, making my bite my lip. I didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"Smith?" She asked, not understanding the reference.

"John Smith." I let out a sigh. Amy didn't seem to understand that they both had the same memories, that they were both the Doctor and both cared about her. They both remembered the crack in her bedroom wall, Prisoner Zero, the Vampires, her wedding to Rory, all of it. Just like they both remembered everything about me.

"Yes!" The other Doctor shouted. "Communications a go-go."

Cleaves rushed over to the controls and started working away, Amy quickly joining her. "Find Rory." She demanded. "Show me the scanning tracking screen. Come on, Rory, let's be having you."

"There's no sign of him anywhere." Cleaves said, watching the screen.

"Come on. Come on, baby, show yourself." Amy said, staring at the screen intently.

"_Uh, Doctor?"_ I called, wondering if both of them could hear me. I had two responses, one giving me a simple reply, letting me know I could hear him, while the other asked me if everything was okay. _"You know, as much as I love the pair of you, even I am getting confused." _I admitted to them.

I saw the pair look at each other, before once gave the other a nod. _"Who do you think is who?"_ He asked me, both of them still gazing at me.

"_I… I don't want to say. Because if I'm wrong, I don't want you to be hurt or upset."_ I told them both. It was true, if I got it wrong, it would just be down hill from there.

I watched as one of them let out a sigh. _"Sidra, just think, think about what happened. Think about what you felt."_

I couldn't stop myself from frowning at him, before my eyes widened as I realised exactly what he was saying to me. It wasn't possible, I didn't want to believe it. That pain I had felt, my head feeling like it was about to explode, it all made sense to me now. Unintentionally, I let a few tears escape and roll down my cheeks.

"Saint John's calling. Emergency Alpha." Cleaves called down the communicator. "Saint John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in?" She let out a sigh and looked over at us all as I wiped away the tears. "We'll never get a signal through this storm." She said, before trying again. "Saint John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."

We all perked up when were heard a cracking, followed by someone speaking. _"We're just about reading you, Saint John's. How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here."_ The man at the other end said.

"Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our Gangers. They're running amok." She told him.

"_Your Gangers?" _

Cleaves let out a sigh. "Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out." Both the Doctor's and I were not impressed with what Cleaves had just ordered.

"_Copy that, Saint John's. Shuttle's been dispatched. Hang on."_

"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower." She informed him, while the rest of us stood there listening. "And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following code word. I'm typing it, in case they're listening in."

"_Got it. We'll swing in, get you out and decommission the Flesh."_

Cleaves let out a sigh of relief at the prospect of them finally getting off the island and away from their Gangers. I wasn't feeling as confident as she was, because they were still out there, still preparing to attack us all.

"We've got to get out of here." Buzzer mumbled. "We are, we're going to get out." He said, clearly trying to convince himself that everything was going to work out find in the end.

"We're not leaving without them." Amy protested, thinking once more about her husband. I was still annoyed with Rory for actually doing that. After all the times he argued with the Doctor because Amy was putting herself in danger, now he just runs off and puts himself in danger.

"I want them found too, but it's about casualties, innit? Can't be helped." Buzzer told her.

Amy just let out a sigh and turned back to the Doctor who was working away on the controls of the unit that both the Doctor's had worked hard on repairing. "What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Making a phone call." He replied, carrying on working.

"Who to?"

"No one yet. It's on delay."

Amy just looked at him in confusion. "Right. Not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?"

"Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams." The Doctor told her, spinning around on his chair and then spinning her chair. "The wheels are in motion." He said, before tapping one last key. "Done."

When she stopped, I saw her leaning against the Doctor, a smug grin on her face as she looked at the other Doctor. "You know, really there can be only one." She whispered to the Doctor beside her.

"Hmm?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and looking at her.

"Oh, nothing. Carry on. Be amazing." She said to him. I shook my head a little as I looked from one Doctor to the other. I was certainly getting a stronger feeling from one than the other, but I wasn't entirely sure I could understand it.

I was brought away from my feelings when Amy stood up and walked towards the wall. I carefully followed her, listening to her ragged breathing. We both stopped, looking at the wall when a very small part of it suddenly slid back and that strange woman with the eye patch looked at us once more.

Amy let out a gasp, while I continued to stare at the woman. I could tell my red haired friend was panicking as she looked at the Doctor and back again. By the time she looked back, the hole in the wall was gone and back to solid stone.

"Amy, what happened?" The Doctor sitting at the console asked her.

She tried to control her breathing as she walked rushed over to him. "It's her again." She told him, while I went over to the other Doctor, who Amy seemed to be completely ignoring.

"It's who again?" The Doctor with Amy asked.

"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eye patch." Amy explained. "And she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me." It looked as if the Doctor was deep in thought. "Doctor?"

"Nothing." He replied.

I looked up at the other Doctor, noticing the sadness in his eyes. "Is it really nothing?" I asked him quietly. "Or is this something I should be worrying about as well?"

"Do you see her too?" He asked me, causing me to nod at him a little. "You're one of the inspired, of course you can see her. But don't worry about it, it's nothing." He told me, giving me little reassurance.

I took a hold of his hand, gazing into his ancient eyes. "Everything… everything will be okay, won't it, Doctor?" I asked him, having a sense of dread wash over me all of a sudden. "I mean, with me and us?"

"Oh, Star." He said, before putting his arms around me. "Of course everything will be okay. Everything will always be okay." He let me go and we both shared a smile, before a frown took over his face. "It's in my head." He said, before walking out.

"Hey, hold on." Jimmy called.

Cleaves looked slightly worried. "Don't let him go." She ordered, needing someone to go after him and make sure he didn't run off to the other Gangers.

I was about to go after him when Amy lightly touched my arm. "No, leave it to me." I nodded at her and watched her go outside, while I took her spot next to the Doctor at the console.

"Do you think everything is going to be okay as well?" I asked him, playing with my hands in my lap. I know it was stupid to be asking him it, but I just didn't feel like everything was going to work out well.

I looked up when he grasped both of my hands. "Hey, of course everything is going to be okay."

I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, the other you just said that as well."

"But you didn't believe him?" He asked me softly.

"No, it's not that I didn't believe him, it's just… I don't know…" I was struggling to explain what it was I was feeling. "I feel more connected to you than to him, like… I can't explain it."

He just smiled at me softly, a smile that I had been longing to see from his face. "We are connected. And I promise you, Sidra, everything will be okay in the end."

I looked at him with a frown on my face. "Why did you call me Sidra? You never call me that, because you know how much I hate that stupid name."

All he could do was smile at me some more. "You've already worked it out." He said, before kissing the top of my head and settling back down in the chair. To say I was confused was an rather large understatement.

We both sat there, until the Doctor beside me whispered a single word. "Why?" He asked. Just before Amy came back into the room. The other Doctor right behind her.

"Keep him away from me." She ordered, getting as far away from the man as she could. I was just curious as to what had happened between the pair of them.

"Did you sense it?" The Doctor who had been out with Amy asked, looking at the Doctor in the chair.

"Briefly. Not as strong as you." He replied calmly.

"Amy, I'm sorry."

"No, you keep away. We can't trust you." She said, clearly scared of the man now.

I looked from one Doctor to the other, lost in what had just happened with Amy. "It would appear I can connect to the Flesh." The Doctor who Amy was frightened of said.

Amy just glared at him. "You are Flesh." She spat. Her tone was even worrying me.

"I'm beginning to understand what it's been through, what it needs." He continued to explain, getting the attention of most of the people in the room.

"What you want. You are it." Amy told him firmly.

He ignored her comments, and carried on. "It's much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?" He asked, looking over at Cleaves.

"Its cells can divide." She confirmed.

"Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge. It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge." The Doctor rambled.

"I was right, you're not the Doctor." Amy said firmly, sticking to the other Doctor like glue. "You can't ever be. You're just a copy."

"Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?" Cleaves suggested.

"Excuse me?" I asked, wondering why Cleaves was suddenly against the Doctor as well.

"Hold on a minute, hold your horses." The Doctor Amy was keep to stay with called. "I thought I'd explained this. I'm him, he's me."

The woman turned around to look at the man behind her. "Doctor, we have no issues with you, but when it comes to your Ganger…"

"Don't be so absurd." He snorted, not impressed with the way she had so quickly changed.

"Buzzer." She said, nodding towards something.

"Sure, boss." He pulled out a barrel while the Doctor straightened his bowtie. "Take a seat mate."

"Nice barrel." The Doctor replied as he sat down on it. "Very comfy. Why not? Is this really what you want?" None of them could answer him.

"_This is the shuttle. We're right above you, but we can't get low enough. Gamma static could fry our nav-controls." _A voice called through the communications system. _"Sit tight. We'll get you out. Just…"_

I watched as one of the Doctor's pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan Cleaves with it as she rubbed her head.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Jimmy called, after the communication cut out before the pilot had finished speaking.

Amy let out a sigh. "I can't find Rory. I'm going out there." She announced, turning to face the Doctor sitting in the chair by the control unit.

"We could use the sonic to track him. Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic needs to tell the difference." The Doctor told her.

"Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different. So the other Doctor is different." Amy concluded.

I just rolled my eyes and looked at her. "No, he is the Doctor, Amy."

She looked over at me, clearly not impressed with what I had just said. "Not to me. I can tell. Surely you can tell as well. You're his bond, how can you say that they are both the Doctor?" She asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders at her. "Simple really, they are both the Doctor. I know they are. I can ask both of them about things that happened back at home, and they would both be able to tell me in perfect detail. They are both the Doctor, it's as simple as that." I told her, hoping that I had got my point across.

The Doctor in the chair smiled at me before looking at Amy. "Sure you're not prejudiced?" He asked her.

"Nice try, but I know, okay? We've been through too much. You're my Doctor. End of." Amy said, trying to put the whole matter to rest.

"_Well, Doctor's."_ I called to both of them. _"This has certainly turned into a very interesting day. But what happens after this? I mean, not that I don't love having two of you around, but one of you must have thought about all of this."_ That was something I had been thinking about. How was the TARDIS going to cope with having two Doctor's in there, and how was I going to cope as well?

"_Ah, well, you see…"_ One of them started.

"_We haven't actually gotten that far yet."_ The other finished, causing me to roll my eyes.

"_But don't worry, my Sidra, you'll always have me."_

A frown formed on my face once again. _"You know, I don't know what is worse. You keep telling me that everything will be okay, that you will find me. Or you keep calling me Sidra and telling me that you'll always be there."_ I watched as the pair of them shared a look.

Before anyone could say anything else, something flashed up on the screen. "Hey, there's a camera up. We've got a visual." Buzzer announced happily, looking at the video feed.

Amy was quickly up and looking. "That's Rory and Jennifer." She said, letting out a sigh of relief at finally seeing that her husband was okay.

"They're heading for the thermostatic room." Cleaves said, watching their movements and working it out.

"Let's go get them." Amy said, ready to march out of the room. Only the Doctor she had been so attached to tossed his sonic screwdriver to the one sitting on the barrel. "Hang on…" she cried in protest.

"We can't let him go. Are you crazy?" Cleaves said, giving him the same annoyed look that Amy was throwing at him.

"Am I crazy, Doctor?"

"Well, you did want to plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet." The Doctor sitting on the barrel replied with a slight grin on his face.

"He can't go rescue them. I'm going." Amy said with determination.

"Do you know, I want him to go." The Doctor said, getting up out of his chair and standing in front of Amy. "And I'm rather adamant."

There seemed to be a lot of tension, bristling in the air now. "Well then, he'll need company. Right, boss?" Buzzer called as the Doctor stood up from his makeshift seat of a barrel. "It's fine. I'll handle it."

The Doctor before him smiled. "Thank you, Buzzer. It'll be all right. I'll find him." He said, directing the last part to Amy.

"I can't explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him." The Doctor said to Amy, while Buzzer and the other Doctor made their way outside already. "Can you do that for me, Amy?"

"And what if you're wrong?" She asked, worrying about being with the other Doctor, the Doctor who had scared her so much.

I gently put a hand on her arm. "Amy, I trust both of them, with everything that I have. You need to do the same."

"But how can I?"

I let out a sigh. "Please, Amy. You need to trust him if we are ever going to get out of this alive. If you want to get Rory, then you need to trust him. Okay?" She nodded at me. "Good, now go and find your husband."

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**A/N: Has anyone worked any of it out yet? I admit, I got a little confused while I was writing this, but trust me, it all becomes clear later. **

**I'd be interested to know what you guys think is going on, so I know how much harder I have to work next time to keep you confused. **

**Review are greatly appreciated, and a thank you to all my new followers and the people who have favourited this story. Oh, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who has already reviewed, you guys rock!**

**Pippa.**


	44. The Almost People Pt2

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews, you guys are totally awesome. But anyway, on with the story.**

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The Doctor and I watched as she left the room, seemingly a little calmer about being with that Doctor than she had been before. "Do you really trust both of us?" the Doctor finally asked me, breaking the long silence.

I turned and looked at him. "Of course I do. You are the same person, you have the same memories, same feelings." I told him, taking a hold of one of his hands.

"I might disagree with the feelings part." He said, giving me a sad look.

"What do you mean?" I asked, lost to what he was talking about now.

"Have you worked it out yet?" He whispered to me quietly.

"_You mean have I worked out who is who and why there is a stronger bond with one than the other?"_ I asked him, not wanting to speak out loud. He simply nodded at me. "Yeah, I think I have." I told him sadly.

The Doctor squeezed my hand tightly, trying to reassure me, letting me know that he was there and that everything was going to be fine. "I promise you, everything will be fine. We're working on it." He told me.

All I could do was give him a weak smile back. "I know. I trust you."

After that we fell into a comfortable silence, until Cleaves noted something that was pretty off. "These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents." She said, frowning at the screen.

"Why do that?" Dicken asked. "They'll kill us."

"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under out feet." Cleaves reminded us all.

"And now it's heating up the whole island." I whispered.

The Doctor looked at me, a slight hint of concern on his face. "How long till it blows?" No one had a chance to answer, as the ground shifted and we all heard a very loud rumbling.

"Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here." Dicken said, the fear seeping through in his voice.

Cleaves rushed to the communications. "Shuttle, we need evac." She called. "Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you…" She trailed off as she let out a groan of pain and clutched hold of her head.

The Doctor and I were quickly at her side. "Cleaves? Cleaves, are you okay?" I asked her softly. "Come on, sit down." I said, helping her into a chair.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to wave both of us off and get us to leave her alone.

I glanced at the Doctor, and he shook his head at me. "No, you're really not." I told her, watching her closely.

"I'm waiting for results, so let it go." She said, still rubbing her head a little.

The Doctor wasted no time in giving her the results she was waiting for. "It's a very deep parietal clot." He told her.

Cleaves just looked at him. "How can you possibly… Inoperable?" She asked him.

"Well, on Earth, yeah." I told her.

"Well, seeing as Earth's all that's on offer… hmm? I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weatherman. Right?" She said, looking at the Doctor and then at me. "Neither of you."

Everything the room began to shake, and Amy reappeared. She can't have made it that far, in fact, I was starting to wonder if she had even left at all. I really needed to start paying more attention to what was going on around me. "Something just cracked. I heard it." She called, trying to keep herself steady on her feet.

"Yeah, we can't stay here. Let's go." The Doctor I had been talking with said.

Jimmy agreed with us while Cleaves tried once more to contact the pilot of the shuttle. "Cleaves to Shuttle, respond." She called. "We need to move, and we can't be collected from the Evac tower."

"_Give us the code word."_

"The code word is…" She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence, as there was another shake before the machine went head.

She went straight back to the controls, even as the alarms started blaring. "Cleaves? Cleaves, it's dead. It's dead. We need to get out of here. We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on. Come on." The Doctor told her, grabbing hold of her and pulling her away from the console.

All of us ran through the monastery, reaching a passage where there were eyes stuck to the wall. "Ah, the eyes have it." He said, looking at them. They were watching us, and it was really creeping me out.

"Why are they here?" Amy asked, looking at them.

"To accuse." The Doctor told her. "Us."

Cleaves seemed to be the only one not phased by what we were all seeing. "Ignore them. It's not far." She said, letting everyone else past her first.

We moved as quickly as we could to make it to the thermostatic room, but we were too late. There was nothing we could do. "It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it." The Doctor announced. "This place is going to blow sky high."

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves asked him, as they both worked away on the controls.

"An hour?" He suggested. "Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between?" That was when another alarm started to ring in out ears. "Out!" He shouted, grabbing hold of my hand as he passed me.

The alarm seemed to be going off throughout the whole of the factory. "Oh thank God." Rory said, coming towards us from the other end of the passageway we were now in. "All right?"

Amy was quick to rush to her husband. "Oh, Rory. Oh, Rory." She said, throwing her arms around him.

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt." He told us as he hugged his wife back.

Cleaves looked at him sceptically. "From the crypt? It's not on the schematics."

"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me." I was slightly surprised at how Rory seemed to be taking charge, and something just didn't feel right.

Everyone else ran off, everyone but the Doctor and myself. "Do you have the feeling that this is a trap as well?" I asked him, a nervous look on my face. He simple nodded at me, before gripping my hand tighter and dragging me down the corridor with him.

"We can't leave without Buzzer." Jimmy said, the moment we caught up with them at the acid room.

"I'll go back for him." Cleaves volunteered, ready to step back out of the room and start the search for her missing man.

"Er, Doctor, look. I'd better tell you. I haven't been quite straight with you." Rory said, before Jennifer closed the door on us, trapping us in the acid room.

"Rory!" The Doctor and I both shouted at the same time.

"Hang on, Jen. We don't need to lock them up." Rory told her. "We should just show them what we've found."

"I don't think so." She spat. I didn't like the way she was talking, or acting.

"Rory Pond! Roranicus Pondicus!" The Doctor called, hammering on the door.

Now it was Amy's turn to try and get through to her husband. "Rory, what the hell are you playing at?" She asked him, letting some of her anger seep through.

"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot." Rory told us all from the other side of the door. "Alive. I think the world should see that."

"Rory, there is no time. The factory's about to explode!" The Doctor called to him, hoping he would see sense and let us all out.

Rory turned to Jennifer. "Are you sure about this? Because I'm not." He admitted. "Let them out."

"The little girl got strong." Jennifer said, a sadistic look on her face.

"What?"

"The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies, looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"

Rory just looked at her in shock. "But that wasn't… It was he other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."

"Oh? What other Jennifer?" The woman said to him. She was seriously starting to creep me out now.

"Well, the… the… er. Wait, you tricked me?" He asked her, only for her to hold onto him. "Let me go. I'm opening the door. Let me!" He shouted, before Jennifer started to pull him away from the door. "I'm sorry!" He shouted, before he was completely dragged away.

While Amy cried out for her husband, the Ganger of Cleaves appeared at the small glass window in the door. "We have to be free." She told us all.

"I'm sorry too, Miranda. Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot." The Cleaves who was with us said, pointing to her head. "But hey, them's the breaks. Welcome to the human race."

"Uh, Doctor?" I said, getting his attention as I looked at the bubbling vat of acid. "You know, not to worry you or anything, but we seem to be in even bigger trouble now." I told him, keeping my eyes firmly locked on the vat.

He whipped out his sonic screwdriver, which I thought was odd since I saw him pass it to the other Doctor. "This is going to overhead and fill the room with acid." He told us as he scanned the vat. "Just as a point of interest."

"And we can't stop it?" Cleaves wondered.

"Just as a point of interest? No." I shook my head at him, before stepping over to him and slipping my hand into his.

He smiled down at me. _"You're right, I've work it out."_ I called to him, gazing deeply into his eyes. _"It's so clear now that I don't know how I ever could have missed it."_

"_It wasn't your fault."_ He told me, frowning a little. _"None of it was your fault. And I'm sorry."_

I fiddled with my pendant with my free hand. _"But I still should have noticed."_ I told him, glaring at the thing in my hand. _"I should have seen it, and then he could have had her back sooner." _

I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly, and my arms wrapped around him. I was feeling something I hadn't felt with the Doctor in such a long time now, and I finally understood why. Now that I understood, it was easier for me to accept why things had been so different, why the person I shared my life with was more distant.

Neither of us really paid that much attention to what was going on around us, until it was agreed to try putting the lid on the vat to contain the acid slightly.

"It'll never hold her." Jimmy commented as they lowered the giant metal lid down.

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears." The Doctor told him, still holding onto my hand. "In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears." He said as it finally settled in its place.

There wasn't really much else we could do, being trapped in that room with nothing but acid. "So, do you have a plan yet then, Doctor?" I asked him, leaning against the wall with my arms folded in front of my chest.

He smiled back at me. "I always have a plan."

"The acid's eating through." Cleaves told us, making me look at the Doctor with worry.

"Well, I hope you're plan is spectacular, and that it starts any minute now." I told him, getting more and more nervous now. I knew the moment that we had landed there that things were going to just go from bad to worse. I just didn't know how bad they were going to get.

"Ring ring." He whispered, looking at me with a grin on his face. "Ring ring."

I frowned at him. "Are you pretending to be a telephone now, or have you just gone completely bonkers?" I asked him.

"I have not gone completely bonkers." He told me, stepping over to me. "I am completely sane."

I simply nodded at him. "For a madman with a box, yeah?" I asked him, trying not to laugh. Only a few giggles escaped my lips.

The Doctor just shook his head at me. "Oh, shush you." He said, before giving me a quick peck on the lips and going to help try to keep the boiling vat of acid sable.

"It's not going to hold for much longer." I said, watching as Jimmy struggled with it.

And I was right. As Jimmy tried his hardest to keep the lid on the vat, it bubbled over, burning him, making him scream out in pain. "Let me through." His Ganger called, charging into the room.

"There's nothing we can do. The acid's reached his heart." The Doctor told him sadly.

Jimmy and his Ganger just looked at each other. "Hang in there, mate." His Ganger told him, holding him, and trying to reassure him.

"I'm quite handsome from this angle." Jimmy commented, as the acid burned through his chest some more. It was a horrible thing to have to see.

"I'm sorry." His Ganger told him. "I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."

"Shut up."

His Ganger just looked at him. "What do you want me to do? Anything. Just say it."

"The way things are, mate, it's up to you now. Be a dad. You remember how." Jimmy told him, taking off his wedding ring and passing it to his Ganger.

"Jimmy Wicks, you're a dad." The Doctor told him. It was clear that Jimmy really didn't know what to say, or how to respond.

"Okay, we really need to move now." I said a few minutes later, as the vat became more and more unstable. The Doctor just nodded at me, grabbing my hand and leading us all back to the dining hall.

"_Daddy? Where's my daddy?"_ I heard a little boy call as we ran into the room. Amy was quickly over to her husband, giving him a hug, while Cleaves and her Ganger decided to have a glaring contest.

"_Daddy, it's me." _The little boy on the holo screen called at seeing Jimmy.

"Hey, sunshine. What are you up to?" Jimmy asked him, trying to control his emotions.

"_Opening all my presents."_

"Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember your dad, he loves you very, very much." Jimmy told him, almost let the sob that was caught in his throat out.

"_When are you coming home?" _He asked, as one of the Doctor's stood behind Jimmy and looked up at the screen with the man.

"Daddy's coming home today, Adam." The Doctor told him, causing the boy to cry out in joy. The Doctor quickly ended the call, before looking at all of us. "Now we need to move."

None of us wasted any time, and we all ran out of the dining hall, trying to make our way out of the monastery without losing anyone else. We had seen too many people die already, and it had all been pointless and stupid deaths.

As we moved out into the corridors, the klaxon that had been going off for so long was still ringing. The moment we made it down to the crypt, our way was blocked by what used to be Jennifer's Ganger. She was now morphing into something much more ravenous and evil.

"Run." The Doctor called. "Run. Run." He spun around and pushed me, along with everyone else, back the way we had just came. We suddenly stopped when there was yet another rumbling. I looked up at the roof, just as the Doctor did. "Ooh, roof's going to give." He said, while the others tried to secure the door from what was now chasing us.

"We have to stop her." The Ganger of Dicken called. "This door doesn't lock."

"No, but the far one does." Dicken reminded him, opening the door and running out and back into the hallway. We watched as he struggled with the door, trying his hardest to close it before the monster Jennifer came along.

Eventually he managed to yank it away from the wall where it was jammed, and closed it. The only problem was, he was on the wrong side, the side with the monster on. We heard him scream out in pain, as she devoured him.

The Doctor just carried on looking up at the roof. "Here she comes." He said, a smile appearing on his face. A moment later the familiar blue box of ours fell through the roof.

"Oh, she does like to make an entrance." The other Doctor called, struggling with the others to keep the door closed. He quickly ran and opened the TARDIS door. "Everyone move." He said, signalling for everyone to get inside.

"Go. Go, go, go." One of the Doctor's said, the Doctor who was now holding the door closed with the Ganger of Cleaves.

"Get on board. Go." The Ganger said to Cleaves.

"I'm not leaving." The woman protested to herself.

I stood there and bit my lip, watching the scene unfolding before me. "Hey, hey. Now's our chance." Amy said to the Doctor trying to keep the door closed.

He shook his head at her and I went to stand beside him. "I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialise." He told her as I joined him in putting all my weight against the door.

"Oh, don't be crazy. Okay, what happens to you?" Amy asked him, the worry evident in her voice.

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her." The Doctor rambled to her.

"Both of you can survive this. I mean, there has to be a way." Amy protested, looking back at the Doctor who was now by the TARDIS.

"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead?" He called, making his way over to us. "Mr Smith."

Amy looked at him, before quickly rushing over to him. "No, of course not. But look, this man, I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry." She said to him.

I looked at her as I fiddled with the pendant around my neck. "Amy, they swapped shoes." I told her quietly, earning a sad smile from one of the Doctor's.

"I'm the Doctor." The one closest to the TARDIS said.

"And I'm the Flesh." The Doctor holding the door said, before Jennifer bashed against it, making us all jump a little.

"You can't be." Amy said in shock. "You're the real him." She said, looking at the Doctor beside me.

"No, I'm not and I haven't been all along." He told her.

It was clear to see that Amy was still utterly confused. "What?"

"I'm the original Doctor, Amy. We had to know if we were truly the same. It was important, vital we learn about the Flesh, and we could only do that through your eyes." The Doctor told her, the Doctor that was giving me a sad look. We both knew what was coming next, and I was okay with that.

Amy came over and hugged the Doctor beside me tightly. "I never thought it possible." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"You're twice the man I thought you were." Amy whispered to him.

He hugged her back just as tightly. "Push, Amy. But only when she tells you to." I heard him whisper to her.

"Amy, come on!" Rory called from inside the TARDIS.

She was about to go before looking at me. "Summer, come on." She said, giving me a pleading look.

I just shook my head at her. "I can't, Amy. I can't leave him." I told her sadly, taking off the glass tube with parts of the TARDIS inside of it. I looked up at the Doctor, the real Doctor, the Doctor who isn't made of Flesh. "Go find her." I said to him, tossing it over to him.

He caught it and gave me that stupid sad smile again. "I'm sorry."

I just shrugged at him. "Hey, it's no big deal. I still have my Doctor, my bond. But you need to go and find your Star, your bond."

Amy just looked at me with wide eyes. "What are you taking about, Summer? Come on, we need to go."

"No, Amy. I have to stay here. You just don't understand, but you will soon. I'm staying here, and you need to go, right now." I told her, nodding at Rory who came over and pulled her into the TARDIS.

"Well, my death arrives, I suppose." The Doctor's Ganger said.

"But this one, we're not invited to." The Doctor said, causing me to raise an eyebrow at him. I had no idea what he was talking about. It was clear the other Doctor had no idea either. "Nothing. Your molecular memory can survive this, you know. It may not be the end." He said, before tossing his sonic screwdriver to his Ganger.

"Yeah, well, if we turn up to nick all your biscuits, then you'll know you were right, won't you." The man beside me said, making me chuckle a little. Deep down, all I wanted to do was cry, because everything that I had thought was real had been a complete lie. The man I thought to have been my bond hadn't, and I hadn't even been who I thought I was.

"Actually, I'm more likely to nick your secret stash of bananas." I called, trying not to let the tears that had build up spill over. "So stock up on jammie dodgers, bananas and maybe some fish custard as well, yeah?" Both of the Doctors chuckled at my comment.

The three of us where there, leaning back against the door. "Uh, Cleaves, time for you to go now as well." I called over to her as there came another hammering on the door.

"I'm staying." She told us firmly.

"This is not the time for grand gestures." The Doctor next to me told her.

"Says the king of grand gestures." Ganger Cleaves said, making me laugh a little. "This is my factory. I'm not going anywhere."

"Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvellous. Beware of imitations." My Doctor said, also laughing away.

She looked over at the people standing by the TARDIS. "Clear off out of here, the lot of you." She called over to them.

I watched as they all ran into the TARDIS, then the magical blue ship vanished from our sight. "So, this is it then yeah?" I mumbled, not feeling very comfortable now that the TARDIS was gone. "Screwdriver will end her, but it will do the same to us as well."

The Doctor looked over at me. "There may be w way back from this." He tried to assure me.

I just rolled my eyes at him. "Oh really? You honestly think that do you?"

"Don't know. Let's find out, eh?" He said, trying his best to smile at me. He pulled open the door, the monster of Jennifer heading towards us. He aimed his screwdriver, grasping hold of my hand tightly. "Geronimo." He called, turning his screwdriver on. The monster exploded, and then everything went black.

My eyes shot open, and the light burned them. Wherever I was, it was bright, a little too bright for my liking. I tried to move, but I couldn't, my arms were being held down and that made me panic. I managed to turn my head, and let out a sigh when I saw Amy lying unconscious next to me.

"Oh, look. She's awake." A voice called, grabbing my attention.

I looked and saw a hatch above me, and it was open, showing the same face of the woman I had seen before, the same woman that Amy had seen as well. "Who the hell are you?" I spat at her.

She smirked at me. "Oh, you'll find out. Soon enough." There was something about the way she was speaking that scared me.

"_Doctor?"_ I called, hoping that he could hear me. _"Doctor, please. Please, find me."_ I had to stop myself from crying, the tears were already building in my eyes, and I didn't want to let them fall, I didn't want her to see me as weak, to see how afraid I was.

"This has just been all too easy." She commented, before sliding the hatch closed once more and leaving me alone with Amy.

I looked back over at her, and that was when I noticed it, when I realised what had been going on for so long now. "Oh, Amy. Our boys will come, I promise, they will come and they will get us out." I whispered to her, wishing that I could move my arms.

"_I'm coming for you." _The Doctor's voice rang in my head. _"I swear to you, I'm coming to get you."_

I let out a long breath at hearing him in my head. _"You better be, or I swear I will give you complete hell."_

The time pasted slowly, and the minutes ticked by. That was when I heard a gasp, looking over to my side, I saw that Amy had finally woken up. But before I had a chance to say anything, the hatch opened again and the woman was back.

"Well, dear, you're ready to pop, aren't you?" She said, the evil smirk back on her face. "Little one's on its way. Here it comes. Push!" Amy screamed, and all I wanted to do was grab her hand and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

My energy flared and I broke the restraints on my hands, reaching out for Amy and holding onto hers tightly. "It's okay, Amy. Everything is going to be okay." I told her, feeling her grip my hand tighter and tighter.

"Summer? Where are we? What's going on?" She shouted at me through the pain she was suffering.

"I don't know, Amy, I really don't know. But we will get out of it, all of us." I told her, trying to stay as calm as I could. "Just breathe, Amy. Deep breaths, okay?" She nodded at me. "Just do as she says and we will get through this."

I didn't believe half of the things I was telling her, actually, I don't think I believed any of it. The Doctor promised he was coming, but neither of us knew how long it was going to take him to find us, considering neither of us knew where Amy and I were. It was just going to be a long waiting game now, a long waiting game where Amy was going to need all the support she could. She was about to become a mother, away from her husband and in a strange place.

She needed me, because I knew what it was like to be alone. To be so alone and have to care for a child. I wasn't going to abandon her now, or ever. Amy was a friend, my best friend, my sister.

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**A/N: Once again, thank you guys so much for reviewing. Not only do they make me smile, but they give me that little thing called motivation to get cracking with the next chapter. **

**So how many of you guessed that she was flesh? Well, I still have more surprises coming up in the next episode. You have been warned. **

**Thank you to everyone who has followed/favourtied this story, it's great to know so many people read it AND like it. And one more time, a gigantic monster of a thank you to everyone who has reviewed. **

**Keep the reviews coming, keep on smiling, and keep on loving Doctor Who! **

**Pippa.**


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